Short Fiction · Chapter
How Photogen Grew explained
Photogen grows up under the care of the witch Watho and the huntsman Fargu, becoming a skilled hunter and archer.
What happens
Photogen grows up under the care of the witch Watho and the huntsman Fargu, becoming a skilled hunter and archer. Watho forbids him from being outside at sundown, but Photogen, fearless and saturated with sunlight, does not understand the danger.
Themes in this chapter
Reality vs. Illusion
Photogen's fearless ignorance of night and danger contrasts with the hidden reality Watho tries to keep from him.
Characters to notice
- Photogen
The boy raised by Watho, trained in hunting and archery, fearless and saturated with sunlight.
- Watho
The witch who commands that Photogen never be out at sundown, and whose gaze terrifies Fargu.
- Fargu
Watho's chief huntsman, who trains Photogen but fears Watho's wrath and struggles to restrain the boy.
Key passages
“He was but fourteen when he killed his first bull, causing jubilation among the huntsmen, and, indeed, through all the castle, for there too he was the favourite.”
At age fourteen, Photogen killed his first bull, which delighted the huntsmen and everyone in the castle, where he was beloved.
Highlights Photogen's early prowess and popularity.
“So full of life was he, as Fargu said to his mistress, much to her content, that he was more like a live thunderbolt than a human being.”
Fargu told Watho that Photogen was so energetic he seemed more like a living thunderbolt than a person, which pleased her.
Emphasizes Photogen's vibrant, almost supernatural vitality.