shepherd

This word is rather soft and unassuming, as is the stereotypical shepherd him or herself. The notion of guidance in the form of a conscious being that pushes gently when one strays is so comforting, it is no wonder the concept has been adopted for religious imagery. Perhaps this, combined with the fact that the life of a shepherd has the potential for deep meditation and communing with nature, is why I tend to see shepherds as the soul of any fiction in which they appear. So important do their emotions tend to be, so withdrawn their manner and thought-out their few words, that despite their relatively low social status, it is they that I envy. But the most poignant of all shepherd images in fiction, or at least the one that comes to my mind most readily, is probably Holden Caulfield, in his confession to his sister that he would be content with a future of rescuing children from falling from a cliff as they play.