“The White Heron” By Sarah Orne Jewett

"The woman's heart, asleep in the child"

 

    The story of The White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett is one of innocence meeting maturity and this is vividly apparent in the allusions, paradoxes and language that Jewett masters. The story of young Sylvia and the symbolic nature of the white heron gives a unifying theme to the reader of the elements of Naturalism. Naturalism focuses on analyzing character, or human nature, through their relationship to their surroundings. Jewett takes the reader on an in-depth look at Sylvia's character, while coming to the age of maturity, as it relates to her surroundings. The title of this essay is Jewett's own words, the implication of using it as a title is one that speaks to Sylvia's journey to bring forth the woman that is within her during a time that society requests her to mature.

 

    A paradox of maturity and innocence is created during the scene when the hunter and the young girl venture to find the white heron alone. In this scene there are several sexual connotations that are heightened. Sylvia feeds into the hunter's friendliness and comes to admire him. This spout of emotion is described as, "the woman's heart asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love. Some premonition of that great power stiffed and swayed these young foresters who traversed the solemn woodlands with soft-footed silent care." This is what ultimately leads to a determination to find the white heron's nest. This path can be symbolized as a path to her own innocence, which she desperately yearns to give to this young hunter. Combined with a romantic inclination for him is the added satisfaction of money. The hunter has already promised her wealth that she can not afford otherwise. With the illusions of romance and wealth she is persuaded to leave her innocence in the hands of his hunter thereby entering into the state of maturity.

 

    The allusion of the old pine has particular significance to the story. The old pine tree stands as, "the last of its generation. Whether it was left for a boundary mark, or for what reason, no one could say; the woodchoppers who had felled its mates were dead and gone long ago…" There is an allusion to an oppressor of nature, that human civilization dictates nature's survival. Similarly, this points to the necessity to stay secluded and hidden from humanity and is described in the behaviors of Sylvia and the white heron. There is a reoccurring theme of Sylvia's fear of humanity as well, it begins in the scene where the grandmother chooses Sylvia from her daughter's children to live with her she indicates with a smile, " 'Afraid of folks,' they said! I guess she won't be troubled no great with 'em up to the old place!' " This indicates that the grandmother, or mother nature, is providing a safe haven for the young girl to grow. The grandmother would provide a location where the detriments of the growing industrial society would be far from a reach at Sylvia. The old pine ends up being the only means to discover the bird's secret lair. This idea that the old pine protects the white heron, innocence, alludes to the grandmother protecting the young girl in her innocent stage of youth.

 

    There is a second paradox that is apparent in the contrast between gender roles in various situations. For instance, when the grandmother is talking about her son that has traveled a lot, and regretfully remarks, "I'd ha' seen the world myself if it had been so I could." This particular line referring to the restrictions of a woman's role. The irony of the situation is that she is relaying this to a young man who is free to romp about wherever he pleases to satisfy an urge to hunt and stuff prized birds. During the scene where Sylvia ventures alone with the hunter, she too is restricted by her feminine role. Jewett indicates this when she speaks of the child's grief of not finding the heron, "but she did not lead the guest, she only followed, and there was no such thing as speaking first. The sound of her own unquestioned voice would have terrified her--"

 

    The ending to the story metaphorically goes beyond her decision to the protect the location of the bird. It stems at protecting nature, which in turn protects her own innocence. She rejects society's inclination towards entering into an age of maturity by rejecting the hunter's inclination to kill and stuff the white heron. This theme gives Sylvia a sense of power that is not allotted by society.