Nana's Sheep Sparknotes

In “Nanina’s Sheep” by Mary De Morgan, the theme; nature of evil reveals the power of temptation, and the influence that evil has on an individual. By disregarding her masters orders, Nanina travels to the old palace on the other side of the hill, where she dances, something that seems like a harmless act, but she is unable to stop, and each time loses a sheep. In the end, Nanina is left with no sheep, and must resist the temptation to dance with the help of a birch tree, in order to recover the flock. Through the use of light and dark imagery to connote the occurrence of negative events, as well as the use of colour archetypes, the author reveals the temptations of evil, and the influential power it has on an individual.
The use of light and dark imagery throughout "Nanina's Sheep" outlines the

strength of evil, and the power it has to persuade.

After Nanina loses one of her sheep, she is hesitant to revisit the old palace, but every time the sun sets, Nanina's worry fades with the light, "she found that another lamb had disappeared. Then she wept...and declared that the next night she would watch the shepherd...and again the next night the same thing happened; once she heard the pipe, Nanina could not keep still, and another lamb was lost" (Morgan 286). The light and dark imagery is used to depict the power of evil, and forebode darkness. Each morning Nanina is rational and decides not to revisit the palace, but once the night approaches, Nanina becomes overpowered by temptation, gives in, and loses another sheep. The dark imagery is used to emphasize the protection of the dark, functioning, metaphorically like a blanket under which evil can be hidden from the world,

and an individual is made more vulnerable. Additionally, light imagery is seen in Nanina's original desire to visit the castle saying, "sat looking at the old palace that was half in ruins, but was said to be lit up quite brightly every night after it was dark. I wonder if it really is lit up" (284). Nanina is originally tempted to see the bright lights of the castle, this also depicts the influence that evil has. The lights symbolizing the evil and temptation that Nanina is drawn to each time she visits. In conclusion, the use of light imagery is used to expose the strength and influence that evil has on an individual, by associating the darkness with the unknown, and bright lights in the darkness as the temptation to evil.
Akin to the use of light imagery, colour archetypes also aid in foreboding a negative connotation of events. When Nanina travels to the originally forbidden castle, a shepherd boy followed by a flock of black goats meets her, "Nanina had never seen such goats, they were jet black" (285). The colour black attributed to the goats is an archetype used to characterize darkness, chaos, and evil. The reader later discovers that the shepherd is in fact evil, and uses the deceptive and persuasive nature of evil to make Nanina dance, distracting her and taking her sheep. The desire for visiting the black goats is seen when Nanina says, "surely the best plan would be to go back to the old palace, and see if I can see the shepherd and the black goats again" (286). This excerpt further emphasizes the desire that Nanina has to see the goats again, even though she knows that it will cause her to lose another sheep. Despite the fact that her sheep will disappear if she goes back to the castle, Nanina still returns. The black goats representing evil draw Nanina back to the castle, further illustrating the influential power of evil.
The theme of nature of evil in Mary De Morgan's "Nanina's Sheep" highlights the power of desire, and the strength of evil to manipulate an individual. Throughout the use of light imagery, the author demonstrates the vulnerability and naïveté in the dark. Along with the desire for safety associated with light when an individual is so vulnerable in the dark. In connection to the affects that light and dark imagery create, the author also portrays the nature of evil and how it takes the form of appearance versus reality. Lastly, the use of colour archetypes is also prominent in the short story, foreboding and characterizing evil even before the reader is aware. In the battle between good and evil, this passage reveals that even though evil is a strong force that may look desirable and tempt an individual, good will hopefully always prevail.