Symbolism In A White Heron

The Secret Weapon

Women’s bodies have been oversexualized since the emergence of the patriarchal society. Women were expected to breed and raise children; they were seen as tools rather than individuals. This perception of women affected the magnitude and rate of the development of feminine power and pride. Women believed that it was their duty to enter constraining relationships in order to fulfill their societal obligations as domestic housewives. Wives were sexually exploited to breed children, making raising a family their only purpose in life. In the short story, “A White Heron,” Sarah Orne Jewett introduces a young girl, Sylvia, who is enthralled by a young man who wants her give up her freedom and independence. In “A New England Nun,”

In the beginning of the story, nine-year-old Sylvia escapes the constraining city to find freedom in the countryside. She experiences the world in a childish way and enjoys the natural world to the fullest. When she meets the hunter, he asks whether she has seen an incredibly rare white heron. Sylvia immediately feels fear towards the hunter and his gun. She tracks the movement of the gun, as well as where he places it. She “did not dare to look boldly at the tall young man, who carried a gun over his shoulder” (53) and she notices when “he stood his gun beside the door” (53) in her home. Even as she slowly develops feelings for the hunter, she “would have liked him vastly better without his gun” (56). However, she eventually becomes accustomed to his weapon, experiencing a change of sentiment when “the woman’s heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by the dream of love” (56). The hunter’s gun represents a threat to Sylvia’s childhood and purity. She begins to experience lust towards the stranger that she does not know at all. As she becomes more comfortable with the gun, she slowly loses her connection with nature. Instead, she feels an intense ardor towards the hunter, watching him with “eyes dark with excitement” (56). A gun’s purpose is to kill the animals of the natural world, which is the environment that originally gave

The hunter sought to capture the rare bird and kill the creature with his weapon. As Sylvia’s lust develops for the hunter, she comes closer to revealing the location of the bird’s nest. The white heron is described as “a single floating feather” (58) which is “vexed by [other birds’] flapping and lawlessness” (59). The heron symbolizes Sylvia’s sexual purity and freedom. The solemn bird thrives on its own, without the presence of others. Sylvia in the end finds the strength to resist her lust towards the hunter, in the way that the bird leaves the lawlessness of the other birds. Sylvia’s willpower is what keeps the bird safe in the end, and consequently, she is able to retain her sexual purity by rejecting the lust she felt for the hunter. In the end, Sylvia gains independence and power through her own decision. Her refusal to succumb to her sexual desires allow her to transcend the oppressive expectations of women. The symbol of the white heron is a powerful tool, employed by Jewett to show the power in refraining from sexual