# Watho's Wolf explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by George MacDonald.

## What happens

Nycteris, still traumatized by her exposure to sudden light, is cruelly abandoned by Watho in the open plain under the midday sun. Watho watches from her tower, expecting Nycteris to die of sunstroke or be trampled by wild animals. Instead, Nycteris finds solace in observing a daisy opened by the sun, which leads her to reconsider the nature of light and her own suffering. She resolves to bear her ordeal patiently, while Watho grows increasingly frustrated.

## Themes in this chapter

### Suffering and Divine Chastening

Nycteris endures physical and emotional pain from the sun and Watho's cruelty, yet begins to see potential meaning in her suffering, comparing it to the daisy's transformation.

### Reality vs. Illusion

Nycteris reinterprets the sun from a death-lamp to a possible source of perfection, questioning her initial perception of reality.

## Character check-ins

### Nycteris

Lying in the sun after being abandoned by Watho; she reflects on the daisy and the nature of light, showing resilience and philosophical insight.

### Watho

Plots evil against Nycteris, has her carried to the plain, and watches through a telescope, hoping for her death.

## Key lines

> She would set her in the sun, and see her die, like a jelly from the salt ocean cast out on a hot rock.

Watho plans to leave Nycteris in the sun to die, comparing her to a jellyfish stranded on a hot rock.

_Illustrates Watho's cruel and experimental nature._

> The flower was a lamp itself! The golden heart was the light, and the silver border was the alabaster globe, skilfully broken, and spread wide to let out the glory.

Nycteris sees the daisy as a lamp, with its golden center as light and silver petals as a broken globe revealing glory.

_Shows Nycteris's poetic and philosophical reinterpretation of the natural world._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/xvii-watho-s-wolf
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_21_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters