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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:
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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.’
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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.’
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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.’
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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.
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Chapter 22 Quotes
‘Go home and tell pa I’m not coming back. I’m finished with the Forest.’
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Chapter 25 Quotes
He was shocked and guilt-ridden. For a moment, his body had forgotten that she was his sister.
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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.
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Get the entire Fiela’s Child LitChart as a printable PDF.
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Nina Character Timeline in Fiela’s Child
The timeline below shows where the character Nina appears in Fiela’s Child. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5
...at trees to potentially cut. Barta seems suspicious of Elias’s plan. Just then, their daughter Nina comes over to them. Elias scolds Barta for letting Nina’s hair get so long. He...
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Chapter 10
...Benjamin back to the house. Elias asks “Lukas” to greet his brother Willem and sister Nina. He gets impatient when Benjamin refuses to say anything.
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Chapter 12
Nina come to Benjamin and says she wants to show him a secret. He agrees to...
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Benjamin gets mad at Nina for wearing his nightshirt like a dress and ruining it in the mud, saying his...
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Nina leads Benjamin down to the creek where she has started a collection of glass bottles....
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...much time among the “Coloureds” to ever be normal. He is annoyed that Benjamin and Nina are off not doing work.
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That night, when Benjamin returns from the Forest with Nina, Elias thinks he’s behaving better, even if he’s still being too quiet. That Tuesday, Elias...
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...Malie comes over to check on Elias. He tells her about how he’s put both Nina and Benjamin to work, but she says it might take more than just that to...
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...Aunt Malie before and isn’t impressed by it. Elias goes to check on Benjamin and Nina’s progress with the beams, only to find they’re both gone and have barely done anything...
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Chapter 14
After catching Benjamin, Elias sets Benjamin and Nina to work on making wooden beams. A few days later, he’s pleased by their progress....
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...Elias will leave him alone. More than 20 days go by, and time passes slowly. Nina is only allowed to go out of the house with a woman supervising her. One...
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Chapter 16
...Elias—the magistrate sent him to check on Benjamin. At the time, Benjamin is out with Nina, and so Elias invites Mr. Kapp to stay until they get back. Elias talks loudly...
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Chapter 18
...that Fiela is never coming for him. Elias has been away for several days, but Nina has disobeyed his orders, barely working on the wooden beams and instead going into the...
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When Elias does finally come back, he seems dazed and barely notices how little work Nina accomplished. He instructs Benjamin and Nina that they are both going out into the Forest...
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Elias tells Benjamin and Nina that if they hear a branch crack, indicating that “bigfeet” are nearby, they should immediately...
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One evening, when Nina and Benjamin come back to the house, Elias informs Benjamin that Fiela stopped by to...
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From then on, Elias always goes to accompany Benjamin and Nina when they work on the pit. Elias tells them they must not tell anyone about...
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...trying to find out how to get back to Long Kloof. A few days later, Nina comes up to Benjamin and says Elias is a “dirty swine.” She tells Benjamin about...
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Chapter 19
...become Lukas. By the start of the New Year, Benjamin begins to think of Willem, Nina, and Kristoffel as his siblings, although it’s harder to accept Elias and Barta as his...
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Back on the day after Nina finds the dead elephant calf, Elias goes to retrieve it. But as before, the elephants...
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One Sunday morning, Nina shows Benjamin Aunt Malie’s daughter Bet. Nina says that eventually Benjamin will have to marry...
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Nina and Benjamin go to the Forest, where Nina pulls out the hidden mouth-organ (harmonica) that...
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Nina begins to bother Benjamin less after he makes the threat about tattling about the mouth-organ....
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When Nina and Benjamin finally return home later that Sunday, Mr. Kapp is sitting at the table...
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All of a sudden, Benjamin hears Nina shouting as if she’s being attacked. Elias is running around punching her, while someone shouts...
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Elias puts Benjamin in charge of escorting Nina to the village to start her job. As they walk, Nina feels angry with everyone,...
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Nina wants to live alone in the Forest, but Benjamin convinces her not to. She agrees...
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Chapter 20
...of the elephants prevent him from going through the Forest into the village to collect Nina’s wages. Eventually, Elias sends Willem to go fetch Nina, but Willem finds out that she...
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Chapter 22
Nina has once again gone missing, and with Willem and Kristoffel away, Elias has no choice...
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...guns he’s bought have been broken and useless. Benjamin knows this is why Elias wants Nina back, so that he can put her to work again and keep earning money. Benjamin...
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Benjamin goes back to the village and asks about Nina. An old man tells him that he remembers Nina leaving her job at the local...
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Miss Weatherbury tells Benjamin that she took Nina in because she took pity on her, but Nina generally refused to work, spending most...
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Miss Weatherbury asks why Benjamin is looking for Nina. He explains that he has to collect her money, and this makes Miss Weatherbury suspicious....
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Eventually, Benjamin gets tired of waiting for Nina and goes out walking on his own. He walks through a footpath over the hills...
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...Benjamin comes back to Miss Weatherbury and tells her about the ship. He finds that Nina is back. Nina begs Benjamin not to tell Elias or any of the others where...
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Chapter 23
Benjamin wants to go back to check on Nina at Miss Weatherbury’s. Kaliel September accuses him of running back to the Forest. He warns...
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Chapter 24
...Barta had a strange feeling from the second day after Benjamin left to look for Nina. Eventually, Nina arrived to give the news that “Lukas” had left the Forest for good....
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Chapter 25
...June. One day, Kaliel September tells Benjamin that he just saw someone who looked like Nina around the area lately, just an hour ago. Benjamin worries for her safety and goes...
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Benjamin finds Nina standing on the beach. She is wearing new clothes, and he doesn’t recognize her at...
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Nina finally admits that while she left Miss Weatherbury, she eventually came back and is now...
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That night, Benjamin struggles with his new sexual feelings toward Nina. He wonders if it’s truly possible that he’s her brother or if maybe he’s Fiela’s...
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...plans. Kaliel sends Benjamin off to the oyster beds. When Benjamin gets there, he finds Nina, who has a message for him. Apparently, a man from Petrus was looking for “Benjamin...
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Chapter 26
...money. The ship eventually wrecked on the rocks. While looking through the wreckage, Benjamin told Nina, Mr. Benn, and some of the other sailors that he was headed back to Long...
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...years old, as Lukas would be. Before Benjamin left on his journey, he talked with Nina again. He made her promise to stay away from the hills while he’s away. In...
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Chapter 27
Benjamin then confesses to Fiela that he’s somehow in love with his “sister” Nina, though she doesn’t know about his feelings for her. Fiela realizes this must be the...
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Chapter 28
...Disappointed, Benjamin feels like he has to accept that he’s Lukas. He goes to see Nina.
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Chapter 29
...is one of the sailors in charge of teaching Benjamin to row properly. Benjamin sees Nina again, and she worries about him when he goes out to sea to do dangerous...
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Eventually, Nina confronts Benjamin about how he talks to her less. Benjamin struggles to explain his conflicted...
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...brig, but Mr. Benn’s call doesn’t come. It’s been four days since Benjamin last saw Nina.
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On the shore, Benjamin tells Nina he saw a man die. She tries to comfort him by holding him against her,...
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Chapter 30
...the letter, then Fiela says she has one last thing: to give her greetings to Nina.
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Chapter 31
...feels like Aunt Malie seems to have always known about “Lukas.” She once argued with Nina that Benjamin wasn’t really Lukas.
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Chapter 32
...asking this question about his identity even matters, and he remembers that all this means Nina isn’t his sister.
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...but Benjamin says he’ll need one more day off—he’s going to Miss Weatherbury’s house (where Nina still works). Mr. Benn smiles and gives him permission to leave.
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