# Nycteris — Short Fiction character guide > Nycteris in Short Fiction by George MacDonald. **Role:** major **Also known as:** V Nycteris, poor Nycteris **First appearance:** 0056-the-history-of-photogen-and-nycteris ## Snapshot A girl raised in unbroken darkness who has never seen the sun, yet reasons her way toward truths the daylight world has forgotten. ## Who they are Nycteris's whole world is a single chamber and the voice of a captor who calls confinement safety. Deprived of sight, she builds an inner landscape of logic and longing, and her first encounters with light and with another person test everything she has believed. Her courage to question her keeper turns a fairy-tale premise into a study of how freedom is imagined before it is seen. ## Relationships ### [Watho](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/characters/watho) _psychological_ Watho is a manipulative captor and tormentor of Nycteris, controlling her environment and perception. ### [Watho](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/characters/watho) _psychological_ Watho is a manipulative captor and tormentor of Nycteris, controlling her environment and perception. ### [Watho](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/characters/watho) _psychological_ Watho is a manipulative captor and tormentor of Nycteris, controlling her environment and perception. ## In the story ### [Cross Purposes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/cross-purposes) Her innocent pursuits are misconstrued, leading to cross-purposes with other characters. ### [The History of Photogen and Nycteris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/the-history-of-photogen-and-nycteris) The night-girl, raised in darkness, discovers moonlight and the world above. ### [V: Nycteris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/v-nycteris) Born in darkness to Vesper, raised by Watho in a lamp-lit tomb, trained to sleep by day and wake by night. ### [How Nycteris Grew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/vii-how-nycteris-grew) Secretly learns to read, loves her instrument, and gazes at the lamp with longing. ### [VIII: The Lamp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/viii-the-lamp) Nycteris experiences her first encounter with total darkness after the lamp is shattered, and her desire to escape drives her to discover a hidden passage. ### [IX: Out](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/ix-out) Experiences her first night under the moon, feeling rapture and a sense of spiritual rebirth. She mistakes the moon for a lamp and resolves to hide her knowledge from her gaolers. ### [X: The Great Lamp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/x-the-great-lamp) Nycteris ventures out again after the great lamp disappears, observes the moon, wind, trees, and river, and experiences a range of emotions from wonder to sorrow. ### [The Garden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/xii-the-garden) Discovers a hidden passage and explores the garden, experiencing nature and freedom for the first time. ### [Something Quite New](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/xiii-something-quite-new) Discovers Photogen by the river, comforts him, and tries to understand his fear of the dark. ### [XIV: The Sun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/xiv-the-sun) Sits vigil over Photogen all night, but is terrified and overwhelmed by the rising sun, which she mistakes for death; she retreats to her dark cell in despair. ### [The Coward Hero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/xv-the-coward-hero) Mentioned as the girl with deep blue eyes who previously tended to Photogen. ### [XVI: An Evil Nurse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/xvi-an-evil-nurse) The lovely creature who nursed Photogen in the dark; he wonders if she is a nymph of the river or a night-being, and fears the sun may have harmed her. ### [Watho's Wolf](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/xvii-watho-s-wolf) Lying in the sun after being abandoned by Watho; she reflects on the daisy and the nature of light, showing resilience and philosophical insight. ### [Refuge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/xviii-refuge) Guides and protects Photogen through the night, using her night vision to avoid wild beasts; suffers from the approaching light. ### [XIX: The Werewolf](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/xix-the-werewolf) Senses the wolf's approach and hides behind a tree; shudders and weeps upon learning the wolf was Watho. ### [All Is Well](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/xx-all-is-well) Marries Photogen and learns to love the day; she helps him be brave in the dark. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/characters/nycteris - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_21_se/characters