Sheep Go To Heaven, Goats Go To Hell

What struck me about Daphnis and Chloe was the simplicity not only of the story and its characters, but also of the setting - that of the pastoral life. Daphnis the goatherd and Chloe the shepherd coexisting not only in the pasture, but in love. Perhaps it is a romanticized representation of life in the fields, but there is something primal and instinctual about this life that is rooted in our psyche.

So when I saw this representation of the story in Wikipaintings, I stopped. The sheep and goats are as woven into the tapestry of this story as they are into the understanding of physical love between Daphnis and Chloe. This leads me to perhaps the most memorable part of the story, in which these two are attempting to unravel their feelings of sexuality and their desire to fulfill their love for each other physically.

Indeed, it is the coming together of their flocks that lead to their coming together, ultimately, in love and marriage. And it is the animals that teach them many of the lessons that they learn in love.

Daphnis observes that the rams and ewes and the "he-goats and she-goats" engage in an act that he doesn't necessarily understand, though "after they've done the thing they do, the females don't run away from the males anymore and the males don't have the labour of chasing the females...they graze together in future as if they had together enjoyed the same pleasure" (179).

This is the next step in their quest to be joined in physical union. Though their naivete still prevents them from performing the act which they unknowingly desire, it is the collaboration of the animals and the random people who pop into their lives that ultimately teach them what they need to know.

The painting, by Leon Bakst, is of Daphnis and Chloe bidding each other goodnight. It shows a pure white Chloe contrasted with a dark-skinned Daphnis, separated by their flocks. Their union not complete, they must say goodnight after spending the day together. Though the intermingling of the sheep and goats shows the closeness of their relationship. In the painting, it even seems as if some of the flock have begun to meld together, showing their physical union is imminent.

As we talked about in class today, the pastoral landscape is often thought of as an idyllic setting and can be used to enhance a romance. Indeed, Bakst seemed to be struck by this notion and felt compelled to include not only the greens and blues and oranges found in nature, but also the blacks and browns and whites of the animals in his representation of Daphnis and Chloe. All this comes together to provide an influence of the pastoral on the lives of the characters. How could one separate the story of Daphnis & Chloe without the goats and sheep that follow them and are followed by them?