Previous
Barta
Nina is the daughter of Elias and Barta. She temporarily becomes a “sister” to Benjamin after he comes to live with them as “Lukas.” After realizing that Benjamin likely isn’t her biological brother after all, she becomes his love interest. Nina’s greedy father Elias never wanted a daughter, and so he tries to treat her like a son, first trying to bring her into his wood-beam business, then, when she resists that, forcing her to work as a servant in the village, ultimately hoping to claim her wages. Again and again, Nina runs away to the Forest to try to avoid her responsibilities at home and at work. Perhaps because she feels like an outsider among her family, she bonds with Benjamin after the magistrate sends him to live with her family as her lost brother “Lukas.” Later, Benjamin is embarrassed to realize that he has romantic feelings for Nina, and this helps him realize that perhaps he isn’t Lukas after all. Eventually, Nina’s relationship with Benjamin and the support she receives from her sympathetic employer, Miss Weatherbury, help her escape her family for good and start a new life in the village. Nina represents the opposite of her greedy father Elias, showing how it is possible to live in harmony with the Forest and nature in general.
Nina Quotes in Fiela’s Child
The Fiela’s Child quotes below are all either spoken by Nina or refer to Nina. 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 12
Quotes
‘What are bigfeet?’
‘Don’t you know? The animals with the trunks, elephants,’ she whispered. ‘You’re not supposed to say the name out loud, they’ll hear you and think you’ve called them and come and trample you.’
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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 18
Quotes
‘Pa is a dirty swine.’ Just that.
‘Why do you say that?’
‘It was a trap. An elephant trap.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I went there. There’s a dead elephant calf lying in the pit.’
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20
Quotes
But she had thrown away her name: half a crown a week with food and clothing was all the people were prepared to pay. What could he do? Nothing. He had to accept it. But as soon as he could get to the village himself again, he would go and see if he could not get her price raised to three shillings.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22
Quotes
‘Go home and tell pa I’m not coming back. I’m finished with the Forest.’
Chapter 25
Quotes
He was shocked and guilt-ridden. For a moment, his body had forgotten that she was his sister.
Chapter 32
Quotes
The pilot pulled the needle through the thick white cloth. Somewhere in his beard a smile seemed to be lingering. ‘Of course,’ he said.
Get the entire Fiela’s Child LitChart as a printable PDF.
Nina Quotes in Fiela’s Child
The Fiela’s Child quotes below are all either spoken by Nina or refer to Nina. 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 12
Quotes
‘What are bigfeet?’
‘Don’t you know? The animals with the trunks, elephants,’ she whispered. ‘You’re not supposed to say the name out loud, they’ll hear you and think you’ve called them and come and trample you.’
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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 18
Quotes
‘Pa is a dirty swine.’ Just that.
‘Why do you say that?’
‘It was a trap. An elephant trap.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I went there. There’s a dead elephant calf lying in the pit.’
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20
Quotes
But she had thrown away her name: half a crown a week with food and clothing was all the people were prepared to pay. What could he do? Nothing. He had to accept it. But as soon as he could get to the village himself again, he would go and see if he could not get her price raised to three shillings.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22
Quotes
‘Go home and tell pa I’m not coming back. I’m finished with the Forest.’
Chapter 25
Quotes
He was shocked and guilt-ridden. For a moment, his body had forgotten that she was his sister.
Chapter 32
Quotes
The pilot pulled the needle through the thick white cloth. Somewhere in his beard a smile seemed to be lingering. ‘Of course,’ he said.
