The Day Boy and the Night Girl facts for kids

The Day Boy and Night Girl is a magical fairy tale novel written by George MacDonald in 1882. It's also known as The Romance of Photogen and Nycteris. This story first appeared in a magazine called Harper's Young People between December 1879 and January 1880.

What's the Story About?

The Day Boy and the Night Girl starts with a witch named Watho. She wanted to know everything about how people grow up. So, she decided to try an experiment. She would raise two children in very different ways.

Watho invited two pregnant women to her castle. One woman, Lady Aurora, had sunny rooms. She gave birth to a boy. The witch quickly took the baby away. She told the mother her son had died.

The other woman was Vesper. She had just lost her husband and was blind. Watho put her in dark, windowless rooms. Vesper died when her daughter was born. The witch then raised this baby girl.

Watho wanted the boy, Photogen, to be strong and brave. She made sure he never saw the night. For the girl, Nycteris, Watho wanted the opposite. Nycteris only knew her stone rooms. Her only light came from a dim lamp. But Watho taught Nycteris music, and she became very good at it.

When Nycteris was sixteen, she found her way out. She stepped into a night lit by a full moon. Nycteris was amazed by the moon and nature. She went back inside before sunrise. She wanted to see the outdoors again. She didn't want Watho to suspect anything.

Around the same time, Photogen was hunting during the day. He saw a big cat heading into the forest. He decided to hunt this skilled animal. As the sun went down, Photogen left to hunt the night animal. This meant he broke the witch's rule.

Once it was dark, Photogen became very scared. He met Nycteris during one of her night walks. Her calm made him feel a little better. She agreed to watch him while he slept. So, for the first time, Nycteris was outside when the sun rose.

Photogen immediately felt brave again. He told Nycteris there was nothing to fear. He left, even though she begged him to stay. She was terrified of the bright, blinding sunlight.

Photogen wanted to prove he was brave. He stayed up another night. But he felt the same fear. Photogen and Nycteris eventually learned to help each other. They used their strengths to overcome their weaknesses. This way, they were able to defeat the witch Watho.

Photogen and Nycteris got married. They kept relying on each other's strengths. They even grew to love what the other person loved. Photogen started to prefer the night, and Nycteris preferred the day.

Character Names: What Do They Mean?

Photogen

The name Photogen comes from Greek words. Photo means "light" and genes means "producer of". So, Photogen means "producer of light".

Nycteris

The name Nycteris comes from a Greek word. Nýchta means "night".

Aurora

The name Aurora comes from a Latin word. Aurōra means "dawn" or "dawn goddess".

Vesper

The name Vesper comes from a Latin word. Vesperī means "evening".

Important Ideas in the Story

In his other stories, George MacDonald often used light to mean goodness. Darkness usually meant not knowing things or being bad. But in The Day Boy and the Night Girl, it's different. Night and day are very important, but neither is simply good or bad.

MacDonald shows that evil isn't about darkness. Instead, it's about loving only yourself. Evil isn't a power fighting against good. It's more like looking inward too much. Photogen and Nycteris are not complete by themselves. They become whole when they learn to care for each other. They accept their differences and help with each other's weaknesses.

The three main characters all want to grow. Watho tries to control and collect knowledge. Photogen tries to win by being strong. Nycteris uses her imagination to understand the world. She wants to see how she fits in it.

This story shows MacDonald's belief in imagination. He thought imagination helps us stop focusing only on ourselves. It opens us up to friendships. These friendships can lead to true completeness.

Other Versions of the Story

• An opera based on MacDonald's book was created by Jordan Wentworth Farrar in 2008. It first showed in New York City in 2009.
• Matt Buchanan also wrote a play using the same ideas.
• A musical version started in 2008. Katherine Baldwin Eng wrote the story and songs. James Rubio wrote the music.
• Ann Aguirre wrote a modern version of the fairy tale. It's her 2011 novel Enclave. She used parts of MacDonald's text at the start of her chapters.
• Kate Ramsey wrote more about the fairy tale in her 2020 novel Oh Wretched Moon. She doesn't change the original story. Instead, she adds more conversations and details about the characters.