Leaf by Niggle

“Yet he was beginning to see that he could not put off his start indefinitely. The picture would have to stop just growing and get finished.”

This is one of the first mentions where Niggle begins to worry that his painting will not be complete before his journey. This quote foreshadows the central dilemma of this story, which is that Niggle will not complete his most important project before it’s too late. Niggle’s sense of urgency connects to the transience of human life.

“When Parish looked at Niggle's garden (which was often) he saw mostly weeds; and when he looked at Niggle's pictures (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 neighborly duty), but he refrained from giving any opinion of the pictures. He thought this was very kind, and he did not realize 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.”

Parish operates as a foil character for the protagonist. The practical man has no interest in his neighbor’s artistic endeavors and instead criticizes the shortcomings of Niggle’s garden. Later in the story, Parish gains an appreciation of Niggle’s creativity while Niggle values Parish’s knowledge of and skill with plants. Both of their skills are necessary for the cultivation of Niggle’s Parish.

“Now he was out of the shed, he saw exactly the way in which to treat that shining spray which framed the distant vision of the mountain. But he had a sinking feeling in his heart, a sort of fear that he would never now get a chance to try it out.”

During his bicycle ride to the doctor, Niggle’s head is clearer to think through the artistic decisions that eluded him in his shed. This quote is indicative of the creative process, and mirrors the frustration of many artists and creators who have inspirational ideas at the most inopportune times. Niggle’s “sinking feeling” that he will never complete his painting proves true, but this act of kindness for his neighbor earns him gentle treatment on his journey.

“‘There now!’ said the Inspector. ‘You'll have to go; but it's a bad way to start on your journey, leaving your jobs undone. Still, we can at least make some use of this canvas now.’”

The Inspector highlights one of the key tensions of the story, which is that Niggle’s art is often viewed as nothing more than extra canvas to patch a roof. This quote highlights that Niggle has been selfish by not helping his neighbor patch his roof, and yet it also depicts the ways that society devalues art because it doesn’t perform a “necessary” function. In the allegorical interpretation, the Driver’s arrival and the commencement of Niggle’s journey symbolize the protagonist’s death.

“Niggle got out in a hurry, and found that he had left his little bag behind. He turned back, but the train had gone away. ‘Ah, there you are!’ said the Porter. ‘This way! What! No luggage? You will have to go to the Workhouse.’”

Niggle originally had a little bag he left behind on the train, but the absence of his earthly belongings suggests that such things are no longer useful to people in the afterlife. Figuratively, Niggle’s lack of preparation—scanty packing that he then forgets—suggests his failure to live with an eye toward his eternal fate, which is why he must first go to the purgatorial space of the workhouse. The quickness of this scene, where Niggle is ushered from the station to the workhouse infirmary, underscores how swiftly death can take people.

“He had no ‘time of his own’ (except alone in his bed-cell), and yet he was becoming master of his time; he began to know just what he could do with it. There was no sense of rush. He was quieter inside now, and at resting-time he could really rest.”

When viewed as a spiritual allegory, the workhouse represents purgatory. During his stay there, the protagonist experiences personal growth, including a greater capacity for reflection and inner peace. This spiritual growth prepares him for the next phase of his journey and, ultimately, for his ascent to the mountains.

“‘Yes, but it did not function properly,’ said the First Voice. ‘And his head was not screwed on tight enough: he hardly ever thought at all. Look at the time he wasted, not even amusing himself! He never got ready for his journey. He was moderately well-off, and yet he arrived here almost destitute, and had to be put in the paupers’ wing. A bad case, I am afraid. I think he should stay some time yet.’”

The First Voice lays bare all the inequities Niggle has incurred throughout his life. The Voice mentions that there is something wrong with Niggle’s heart even though he helped his neighbors from time to time. Additionally, the voice mentions that his head “was not screwed on tight enough,” telling the reader that Niggle’s priorities were not in the correct order, which caused him to leave unprepared for his journey. The criticisms of Niggle’s heart and head connect to the themes of moral responsibility and of the transience of life, respectively.

“Niggle thought that he had never heard anything so generous as that Voice. It made Gentle Treatment sound like a load of rich gifts, and the summons to a King's feast. Then suddenly Niggle felt ashamed. To hear that he was considered a case for Gentle Treatment overwhelmed him, and made him blush in the dark. It was like being publicly praised; when you and all the audience knew that the praise was not deserved.”

Niggle’s reaction to the mercy of the Second Voice illustrates the change in Niggle’s heart during his time at the workhouse. The passage also draws upon Christian beliefs. The phrase “a King’s feast” alludes to a biblical image of heaven as a great feast where souls are replenished. In addition, the gentle, merciful depiction of the Second Voice calls to mind the Son of God, the second figure in the Christian Trinity.

“‘This way!’ he said, and led Niggle to a bay, in which there was a very pleasant little local train standing: one coach, and a small engine, both very bright, clean, and newly painted. It looked as if this was their first run. Even the track that lay in front of the engine looked new: the rails shone, the chairs were painted green, and the sleepers gave off a delicious smell of fresh tar in the warm sunshine. The coach was empty.”

After Niggle leaves the workhouse, the Porter’s attitude is decidedly more cheerful, indicating that Niggle is past the difficult portion of his journey and has earned his “gentle treatment.” The train is new, as if this were the first time anyone has ridden it. This imagery indicates that Niggle is a new man, changed from his time in the workhouse, which parallels the idea that souls must atone for their sins before moving on to heaven. It also parallels with the verse (2 Cor. 5:17) that all people who surrender their lives to Christ become a “new creation,” so the train is symbolic of Niggle’s transformation.

“Before him stood the Tree, his Tree, finished. If you could say that of a Tree that was alive, its leaves opening, its branches growing and bending in the wind that Niggle had so often felt or guessed and had so often failed to catch. He gazed at the Tree, and slowly he lifted his arms and opened them wide. ‘It's a gift!’ he said. He was referring to his art, and also to the result; but-he was using the word quite literally.”

Niggle recognizes the living Tree as the one that he imagined and sought to capture on his canvas before he began his journey. The Tree’s full glory demonstrates that art has meaning in part because it points to greater spiritual realities.

“As they worked together, it became plain that Niggle was now the better of the two at ordering his time and getting things done. Oddly enough, it was Niggle who became most absorbed in building and gardening, while Parish often wandered about looking at trees, and especially at the Tree.”

Niggle and Mr. Parish switch roles. Their time in the workhouse fosters a mutual appreciation and respect between the two men. Their newfound closeness allows the characters to cultivate the landscape of Niggle’s Parish tighter and develops the theme of love of one’s neighbor.

“For a moment a shadow fell between Niggle and Parish, for Niggle knew that he did now want to go on, and (in a sense) ought to go on; but Parish did not want to go on, and was not yet ready to go.”

After cultivating the Tree and its surroundings together, Niggle and Parish part ways when the Shepherd comes to take Niggle to the mountains. Parish stays behind to wait for his wife, but the friends eventually reunite in the mountains. Niggle’s awareness that he “ought to go on” shows that he is spiritually prepared for the final stage of his journey now that his time with Parish has taught him to love his neighbor.

“He was going to learn about sheep, and the high pasturages, and look at a wider sky, and walk ever further and further towards the Mountains, always uphill. Beyond that I cannot guess what became of him. Even little Niggle in his old home could glimpse the Mountains far away, and they got into the borders of his picture; but what they are really like, and what lies beyond them, only those can say who have climbed them.”

The narrator’s descriptions of the mountains evoke a sense of awe and mystery. The passage reinforces the mountains as a symbol of heaven and evokes a feeling of peace because Niggle’s journey ends in the beauty of “the high pasturages” and “a wider sky.”