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Niggle
Parish is Niggle’s only neighbor in the countryside. At the beginning of the story, he is more of a hassle than a friend to Niggle, constantly asking him to run errands and only valuing Niggle’s painting as a source of wood and canvas. He has an injured leg and depends on Niggle to complete physical tasks, though at times he appears to use this as an excuse to take advantage of his neighbor. When Niggle ventures into town on Parish’s behalf to fetch the builder and the doctor, he (Niggle) becomes too sick to finish his painting. While Parish is a hurdle to Niggle’s creativity in the first part of the story, Niggle eventually realizes that Parish’s gardening knowledge and practical skills are invaluable, so he calls upon Parish while creating a paradisal land after his time in the Workhouse. Parish’s transformation is almost the opposite of Niggle’s. When he reaches the land of Niggle’s painting, he is finally able to appreciate the beauty that Niggle has imagined, and he spends his time basking in it rather than burying himself in the tasks with which he once filled his days.
Parish Quotes in Leaf by Niggle
The Leaf by Niggle quotes below are all either spoken by Parish or refer to Parish. 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
When Parish looked at Niggle’s garden (which was often) he saw mostly weeds; and when he looked at Niggle’s picture (which was seldom) he saw only green and grey patches and black lines, which seemed to him nonsensical. He did not mind mentioning the weeds (a neighbourly duty), but he refrained from giving any opinion of the pictures. He thought this was very kind, and he did not realise that, even if it was kind, it was not kind enough. Help with the weeds (and perhaps praise for the pictures) would have been better.
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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.”
One day Niggle was busy planting a quickset hedge, and Parish was lying on the grass near by, looking attentively at a beautiful and shapely little yellow flower growing in the green turf. Niggle had put a lot of them among the roots of his Tree long ago. Suddenly Parish looked up: his face was glistening in the sun, and he was smiling.
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Parish Quotes in Leaf by Niggle
The Leaf by Niggle quotes below are all either spoken by Parish or refer to Parish. 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
When Parish looked at Niggle’s garden (which was often) he saw mostly weeds; and when he looked at Niggle’s picture (which was seldom) he saw only green and grey patches and black lines, which seemed to him nonsensical. He did not mind mentioning the weeds (a neighbourly duty), but he refrained from giving any opinion of the pictures. He thought this was very kind, and he did not realise that, even if it was kind, it was not kind enough. Help with the weeds (and perhaps praise for the pictures) would have been better.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
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.”
One day Niggle was busy planting a quickset hedge, and Parish was lying on the grass near by, looking attentively at a beautiful and shapely little yellow flower growing in the green turf. Niggle had put a lot of them among the roots of his Tree long ago. Suddenly Parish looked up: his face was glistening in the sun, and he was smiling.
