Previous
The Doctor
The First Voice is one of the two Voices Niggle hears when he is ordered to rest after his long stint of hard labor at the Workhouse. The Voices discuss whether Niggle is ready to move on to the “next stage,” something the First Voice, the harsher critic of the two, is doubtful of. The Voice is “more severe than the doctor’s” and focuses on the mistakes Niggle made during his life in the countryside. However, it seems to yield to the Second Voice, suggesting that it holds less authority to decide the cases of those in the Workhouse.
First Voice Quotes in Leaf by Niggle
The Leaf by Niggle quotes below are all either spoken by First Voice or refer to First Voice. 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:
).
Leaf by Niggle
Quotes
“What was the matter with him?” said a Second Voice, a voice that you might have called gentle, though it was not soft—it was a voice of authority, and sounded at once hopeful and sad. “What was the matter with Niggle? His heart was in the right place.”
“Yes, but it did not function properly,” said the First Voice.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Could you tell me about Parish?” said Niggle. “I would like to see him again. I hope he is not very ill? Can you cure his leg? It used to give him a wretched time. And please don’t worry about him and me. He was a very good neighbour, and let me have excellent potatoes, very cheap, which saved me a lot of time.”
“Did he?” said the First Voice. “I am glad to hear it.”
There was another silence. Niggle heard the voices receding. “Well, I agree,” he heard the First Voice say in the distance. “Let him go on to the next stage. Tomorrow, if you like.”
Get the entire Leaf by Niggle LitChart as a printable PDF.
First Voice Quotes in Leaf by Niggle
The Leaf by Niggle quotes below are all either spoken by First Voice or refer to First Voice. 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:
).
Leaf by Niggle
Quotes
“What was the matter with him?” said a Second Voice, a voice that you might have called gentle, though it was not soft—it was a voice of authority, and sounded at once hopeful and sad. “What was the matter with Niggle? His heart was in the right place.”
“Yes, but it did not function properly,” said the First Voice.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Could you tell me about Parish?” said Niggle. “I would like to see him again. I hope he is not very ill? Can you cure his leg? It used to give him a wretched time. And please don’t worry about him and me. He was a very good neighbour, and let me have excellent potatoes, very cheap, which saved me a lot of time.”
“Did he?” said the First Voice. “I am glad to hear it.”
There was another silence. Niggle heard the voices receding. “Well, I agree,” he heard the First Voice say in the distance. “Let him go on to the next stage. Tomorrow, if you like.”
