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Elias
Barta van Rooyen is the wife of the wood-beam maker Elias. She and Elias live with their children in the Forest. She grieves when their child Lukas disappears and seemingly perishes, but then one day, the magistrate calls her to court to see if Benjamin, a white foundling who’s been living with Fiela, a “Coloured” (multiracial) farmer, is in fact Lukas. Benjamin ends up living with the van Rooyens, and although Barta initially seems like a more sympathetic parent than the stern Elias, near the end of the novel she reveals a secret: she strongly suspected all along that Benjamin was never Lukas. She was supposed to pick “Lukas” out of a lineup of similar-looking boys, but one of the census-takers interfered in the process by telling her which boy was Benjamin. Barta’s willingness to go along with this process and unjustly take Benjamin away from Fiela could reflect Barta’s racism, but it also suggests her willingness to submit to authority. In the end, Barta partly redeems herself by telling the truth and helping Benjamin to shed his false identity as Lukas.
Barta Quotes in Fiela’s Child
The Fiela’s Child quotes below are all either spoken by Barta or refer to Barta. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
The day the child disappeared the fog came up early and by midday it seemed as if the Forest was covered in a thick white cloud.
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5
Quotes
‘When the bigfeet are on you, you can’t choose what you let go of and what you want to keep, woman!’
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8
Quotes
‘Will I still know him?’
Chapter 13
Quotes
‘He’s the forest woman’s child.’
Chapter 14
Quotes
‘I’m your pa! That’s who I am! Say it! Say who I am!’ He was as tough as a piece of ironwood. ‘Say who I am!’
‘Pa.’
[…]
For every answer he gave him a lash. ‘And who are you?’
‘Benja— Lukas.’
‘Lukas who?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Lukas van Rooyen. Say it!’
‘Lukas van Rooyen.’
Chapter 15
Quotes
‘The child is back with his rightful parents,’ he said and it seemed as if his jaw had grown stiff. ‘What he had on the day he got lost can make no difference. You can put anything on him now and swear by it in the hope that I will believe you.’
Chapter 22
Quotes
‘Go home and tell pa I’m not coming back. I’m finished with the Forest.’
Chapter 29
Quotes
The one wearing the blue shirt.
Get the entire Fiela’s Child LitChart as a printable PDF.
Barta Quotes in Fiela’s Child
The Fiela’s Child quotes below are all either spoken by Barta or refer to Barta. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
The day the child disappeared the fog came up early and by midday it seemed as if the Forest was covered in a thick white cloud.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5
Quotes
‘When the bigfeet are on you, you can’t choose what you let go of and what you want to keep, woman!’
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8
Quotes
‘Will I still know him?’
Chapter 13
Quotes
‘He’s the forest woman’s child.’
Chapter 14
Quotes
‘I’m your pa! That’s who I am! Say it! Say who I am!’ He was as tough as a piece of ironwood. ‘Say who I am!’
‘Pa.’
[…]
For every answer he gave him a lash. ‘And who are you?’
‘Benja— Lukas.’
‘Lukas who?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Lukas van Rooyen. Say it!’
‘Lukas van Rooyen.’
Chapter 15
Quotes
‘The child is back with his rightful parents,’ he said and it seemed as if his jaw had grown stiff. ‘What he had on the day he got lost can make no difference. You can put anything on him now and swear by it in the hope that I will believe you.’
Chapter 22
Quotes
‘Go home and tell pa I’m not coming back. I’m finished with the Forest.’
Chapter 29
Quotes
The one wearing the blue shirt.
