Thursday, March 01, 2007
Sarah Orne Jewett
Katja
ENGL 48 B
Journal # 26, Jewett
1 March, 2007
"There was an open place where the sunshine always seemed strangely yellow and hot, where tall, nodding rushes grew and her grandmother had warned her that she might sink into the soft black mud underneath and never be heard of more." (600)
The quote is from Sarah Orne Jewett’s story A White Heron, and describes a place where the little girl, Sylvia, is not allowed to venture.
I think Sylvia is dead. She met her fate exactly as stated in the opening quote and is now re-visiting her beloved forest as a "white heron [...] flying through the golden air" (603). Upon close reading, Jewett’s text is brimming with references to death. The description of the child, who is "sleepy" (598) and "paler than ever" (603) with "shining gray eyes" (599) leaves no doubt in my mind as to whether she is dead or not. If you are still not convinced Jewett even writes "it seemed as if she never had been alive at all" (597). Poor Sylvia did not heed her wise grandmother’s advice and took her solitary journey too far.
Sylvia’s grandmother seems grief-stricken, what with all the "family sorrows" (600) and does "not comprehend the gravity of the situation" (599), indicating that the tragedy has been too much for the old woman to bear. Perhaps Sylvia’s death is the straw that broke the camel’s back. I think the grandmother begins to grapple with reality when the stranger points out "a white heron three miles from here" (600).
The stranger is of course a spiritual figure offering guidance. He is "charming and delightful" (601) and with him comes the "premonition of [...] great power" (601). Sylvia’s complete deference to the stranger suggests pious submission. The stranger has arrived as an aid to the grandmother and Sylvia is not yet sure of his identity, she just feels his power.
In the end I think Sylvia’s grandmother will find peace in the fact that she offered her granddaughter a new life in a beautiful place that she came to love deeply.
ENGL 48 B
Journal # 26, Jewett
1 March, 2007
"There was an open place where the sunshine always seemed strangely yellow and hot, where tall, nodding rushes grew and her grandmother had warned her that she might sink into the soft black mud underneath and never be heard of more." (600)
The quote is from Sarah Orne Jewett’s story A White Heron, and describes a place where the little girl, Sylvia, is not allowed to venture.
I think Sylvia is dead. She met her fate exactly as stated in the opening quote and is now re-visiting her beloved forest as a "white heron [...] flying through the golden air" (603). Upon close reading, Jewett’s text is brimming with references to death. The description of the child, who is "sleepy" (598) and "paler than ever" (603) with "shining gray eyes" (599) leaves no doubt in my mind as to whether she is dead or not. If you are still not convinced Jewett even writes "it seemed as if she never had been alive at all" (597). Poor Sylvia did not heed her wise grandmother’s advice and took her solitary journey too far.
Sylvia’s grandmother seems grief-stricken, what with all the "family sorrows" (600) and does "not comprehend the gravity of the situation" (599), indicating that the tragedy has been too much for the old woman to bear. Perhaps Sylvia’s death is the straw that broke the camel’s back. I think the grandmother begins to grapple with reality when the stranger points out "a white heron three miles from here" (600).
The stranger is of course a spiritual figure offering guidance. He is "charming and delightful" (601) and with him comes the "premonition of [...] great power" (601). Sylvia’s complete deference to the stranger suggests pious submission. The stranger has arrived as an aid to the grandmother and Sylvia is not yet sure of his identity, she just feels his power.
In the end I think Sylvia’s grandmother will find peace in the fact that she offered her granddaughter a new life in a beautiful place that she came to love deeply.
# posted by Katja @ 4:35 PM 
Comments:
<< Home
Interesting analysis, but one of your quotes is taken highly out of context. You used a piece of the quote which says "Everybody said that it was a good change (in reference to Syvlia's move to the farm) for a little maid who had tried to grow for eight years in a crowed manufacturing town, but, as for Sylvia herself, it seemed as if she never had been alive at all before" (597). This just means that Sylvia never felt she was really living, but maybe instead felt overlooked in the hustle and bustle of the city. I suppose if you want to go ahead with the "she is dead" argument, you could say that the move to this open-aired, quiet farm was a symbolic one when she passed away.
Post a Comment
<< Home
