Keesler 1

Bianca Keesler
April 30, 2015
ENGL220 The Short Story
Analysis of Symbols in A White Heron
Sarah Orne Jewett wrote A White Heron and created a new meaning to a story which,
at first, seems to be about a choice a young girl makes in the woods. Jewett was unsure of the
storys merit; after publication it became popular and she realized she had succeeded. This story
has been discussed by many different writers over the years and many literary students have
studied this short story. In the story, there are many symbols that enrich the meaning of it. Some
symbols are the white heron, the hunter, the significance of Sylvias name, the subtle references
to the goddess Diana, nature, and Sylvias journey in the middle of the night.
The setting of the story is in the New England woods. Sylvia meets the hunter, who is
looking for information about the herons location. He agrees to pay ten dollars in exchange for
the location. Sylvias ultimate decision is to protect the herons location instead of giving it to the
hunter. The story ends with that decision to protect the white heron, one that has a deeper
meaning than what is depicted on the literal level. Sylvia does give up money for the white
herons life, but the subtle meaning to the story is much more powerful. The choice Sylvia makes
can also reflect some of the choices Jewett herself had to make in her own life.
Jewetts works often have been seen as a reflection of her own life. She writes herself
into the lives of female protagonists; therefore, many have started to examine Jewetts own life
and childhood. One critic, Eugene Pool, argued that because of Jewetts deep emotional
attachment to her father, she could never give up her childhood and become a mature woman
she chose to remain incomplete emotionally (in Griffith 26). Pool in his line of criticism has
many Freudian undertones that heavily influence his analysis of Jewett and her work. Another

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analysis Pool made about her was that Jewett was drawn, psychologically, into the past
towards a re-creation of herself as a child (505). Other critics have also recognized her life and
her works and have seen her choices as being radical for the time. Jewett made the decision to
never marry and focus instead solely on her writing. Once her father passed away, she felt alone
in the world. Soon after, she met Ann Fields and formed a new friendship. Fields was a recent
widow and ended up living with Jewett until Jewetts death.
In the story, A White Heron, Sylvias rejection of the hunter to save the herons life is
an example of Jewett injecting herself into the characters. Sylvia choses to remain with nature
instead of cooperating with the hunter, a potential lover, who she recognizes on some level. For
Jewett, the meaning of her stories is often in the ambiguous meaning. Her characters, while they
may seem simple, are more than literal. Her characters symbolize more in a deeper context
within the story. The ending in A White Heron is an example of this. Sylvias choice is more
than just the life of a heron for money; it represents a choice that is made by so few women
during this time. The choice represents change in how women act or could think to act in the
future.
There have been many accounts of Jewetts sexual preferences since she chose not to
marry a man. Many believe that she was, in fact, partial to her own gender and that she was
romantically inclined to Anne Fields. Due to this fact, many have analyzed Jewetts works and
have pointed out references to her own inclination with some of her female characters, one being
Sylvia herself. This was also another radical change during Jewetts time because having feelings
for the same gender was rarely, if at all, mentioned in society. According to one critic, Joseph
Church, in A White Heron, Jewett allows her own inner conflict the chance to be played out

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through Sylvia. Jewett goes from thinking of male partnership to choosing affectionate
relationships with women (2).
A White Heron, has many symbols that help enrich the story. These symbols give
readers a clearer understanding of the true meaning of Jewetts message. One symbol is the
meaning behind Sylvias name. Her name is derived from the word Silva, which according to
Merriam-Websters dictionary, is the Latin word for woods or forest (1). The entire short story is
set in the woods. Sylvia is surrounded by nature and she feels the most at home when she is there
especially since she did not always reside in it. She has the opportunity to possibly leave nature
but chooses to stay with it once that choice is presented. Sylvias innocence is portrayed through
the characterization given to her. Descriptors like little and childish help the reader
understand more of Sylvias character (Jewett 438). Her attitude in the beginning of the story
also helps portray her innocence. In the beginning, she is looking for her mischievous cow that
she values as her playmate. Her only worry is being late and having to hear a scolding from her
grandmother.
Another symbol is not so easily seen in the story. The goddess Diana is also implied as a
symbol in the story because of her connection with chastity and nature. Diana is the goddess of
the woods. She is a very important figure in Roman mythology. She is also the goddess of
chastity, which suggests Sylvia and her innocence. Nature is important due to the significant role
it has in Sylvias life and the choice she will ultimately make.
The hunter is a symbol in the story as well. He symbolizes industrialization and
masculinity. The hunter remains nameless throughout the entire story which positions him as the
representation of all males. He also represents industrialization because of his characteristics.

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One is the gun he owns. When Sylvia first meets him, she is afraid of him. One reason is because
of his weapon; the other, because he is a man and she is unaccustomed to being around one. She
initially shrinks back from the hunter, seeing him as a complete stranger. When her grandmother,
Mrs. Tilley, gives him permission to stay with them for the night, Sylvia sees this as the ultimate
betrayal on her grandmothers part.
The gun the hunter carries is seen as more than just a physical object. The gun represents
a new form of technology, a form that Sylvia has not seen since her time in the modern world.
The gun, specifically the technology in general, is a threat to nature which furthers the
symbolism of industrialization. Industrialization has always been a threat to nature as a whole.
As the economy and population grow, there is a higher need for more urban areas. In order to
make room for these areas, nature is cut away sometimes completely in the efforts to meet these
demands. Sylvia, having come from such an area, knows this and she fears it. In her fear, she
fears the hunter because he brings technology into her technology free world. Aggressive and
gallant are two words that are associated with the hunters character that help portray his
masculinity (Jewett 439).
Once Sylvia spends time with the hunter, she begins to feel emotions that she has never
felt before. She warms up to him and begins to wonder if she could have a potential future with
him or if he is only using her for the information she has on the herons location. This is a pivotal
crossroad for Sylvia because she resolves to go up and look for the heron and give the hunter the
location. She does, however, ultimately decide not to tell him because she realizes the
importance of the herons life. She never forgets her decision. After the hunter leaves, she looks
back on her choice and wonders how her future might have been if she had not been as close to
nature and the heron. The hunter in a way exposes Sylvia to men and the choices she can make at

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a young age. Instead of deciding to follow the hunters directions, she makes her own
independent choice; this choice is important because it does not only represent her choice alone.
Sylvias choice is a mirror of Jewetts herself and very radical for the time period.
The heron, also known as the Great Egret, is a big symbol in the story. The title of the
story is called A White Heron. The heron is another symbol of fertility. In the story it is
genderless even though there are references to it having a mate. When Sylvia climbs up to find
its nest, she stills refers to it as an it. Up until her finding its nest, Sylvia is resolved in giving
up the location to the hunter. Once she finds the heron, however, she has an epiphany and
realizes how important the heron is to her. It is one of her very dear friends and she will not
sacrifice its life. Great egrets were once hunted because stylish women were wearing the
feathers from the birds in their hats... (Nigel 106). Nigel further comments that when this story
was written, it was part of the effort of the newly formed Audubon Society to save the Snowy
Egret from extinction (Nigel 106). The story helped bring awareness to the birds importance
through Sylvia and her friendship with the bird. She was able to protect her very dear friend in
the end, which could hopefully spark others to want to protect the herons population as well.
The color of the heron also signifies the importance of the bird. The color white has been used in
many literary works to represent purity and innocence. In this story, the heron is a character that
represents nature as a sentient animal. Nature becomes real, flesh and blood instead of just being
an abstract concept.
Nature, as mentioned previously, plays a crucial part in this story. It has characterization
all on its own. The flora and the trees are personified as they start to aide Sylvia, especially when
she is making her nighttime journey. The trees at first seem to hinder her by lengthening but as
time continues, they recognize some mindset in her and aide her in making her way to the

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herons nest. Nature up until that point is in complete solidarity with itself in order to protect the
heron. Once it notices that some sort of trait, possibly Sylvias perseverance, it allows her to go
further. Once there, Sylvia looks out at the trees and the herons. This is the exact moment that
starts her transcendental experience. She is looking out and everything seems to be brighter and
more open to her; she can see far out past the woods and further out to the sea. She seems to still
be in favor of telling the hunter the location but as she shakily makes her way down, it is as if she
has been sworn to silence. Even as her grandmother and the hunter confront her, she tells neither
of them and does not speak at all. This is because she realizes that she would be harming nature
by giving up the location.
Nature is also seen in this story as being completely feminine except for the trees, which
are given masculine characteristics. One instance of this femininity is during the transition from
afternoon to nighttime. Aubrey Plourde asserts that by viewing the moon as a traditional symbol
of femininity, this image of the masculine sun setting and the feminine moon rising because a
transition in authority from the masculinity to femininity (6). There are further assertions of the
differences in masculinity and femininity in the story, especially during the climax when Sylvia
makes her way to the herons nest. After she gains that final epiphany, she is able to complete her
transcendental experience and make her choice. She accepts that there are certain expectations
that are placed on women, one specifically being to marry and follow the guidance of ones
husband. Sylvia learns of this expectation, and instead of following it, she rejects it and she
continues to live her life in a place where women are the ones in charge. This rejection of her
own gender role is seen through her making her own choice. She uses her newfound freedom in
order to make the choice to reject the hunter.

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Sylvias journey through the trees is one final symbol that is mentioned throughout the
story. The significance of the journey is discussed in different ways. One of these ways is
through looking at the underlying sexual tones that Jewett portrays. The tree that Sylvia climbs
up becomes a symbol for a phallic object. The trees lengthen as she climbs up them, they seem
to grow longer as she continues her journey (Jewett 443). This metaphorical erection, along
with the pronoun his, are all symbols of Sylvias sexual transcendence (Plourde 6). As she is
climbing back down the pine tree, she realizes that if she were to tell the hunter the location, she
would accept her position as always being below the hunter in societys eyes. This assertion
further solidifies the opinion that Jewett herself made this choice when she chose to continue
pursuing her writing career instead of settling down and finding a husband. Another
interpretation is that by climbing the pine tree, Sylvia symbolically recognizes her sensual
body and its autoerotic implications (Church 3). Sylvia realizes that she has never had to face
these issues because she is so isolated within nature. Nature has been not only a dear friend to
her, but also a safe haven. Sylvia is able to have freedoms she could not have back when she was
in her home.
There are other feministic instances throughout Jewetts story. One is within Sylvias
home. The head of the house for Sylvia is not a male character but in fact, her own grandmother,
Mrs. Tilley. This is very different from other literary works during this time period because the
head of the house is traditionally a male character of some sort. When the hunter first appears, he
is portrayed as a very masculine and bolder character. When he meets Mrs. Tilley, he recognizes
that she is the head of the house and he leaves his gun at the front door before entering. While he
is there he is also respectful towards Mrs. Tilley. She has established her role as the matriarch
and the hunter adheres to that. All of the characters, except for the hunter, are females. Mrs.

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Tilley, Sylvia, nature, and even Mistress Moolly, the cow, are just some of the female characters
mentioned. Nature is given feminine characteristics by the portrayal it has with the
Symbolism is important in any literary work. Without it, the meaning of a story will not
be as powerful. Jewett uses many symbols, which help the readers gain a clearer insight into her
true purpose for writing this story. It is not about money, love, or power. The true meaning is
Sylvias ability to make her own independent choice. Even though she seems to think back and
wonder if she made the right choice, she was still able to make it in the first place. Sylvia, at a
young age, is able to learn that she can make her own choices in life. She learns to value her
friendship in nature when faced with the possibility of men and industrialization.

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Works Cited
Church, Joseph. Romantic Flight in Jewetts White Heron. Studies in American Fiction 30.1
(2002): 1-10. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Griffith, Kelley, Jr. "Sylvia as Hero in Sarah Orne Jewett's "A White Heron." Colby Quarterly
21.1 (1985): 22-27. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.
Jewett, Sarah Orne. A White Heron. The Short Story and its Writer. 8th Ed. Ann Charters.
Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2011. 438-445. Print.
Nagel, James. "Sarah Orne Jewett." American Short Story Handbook. Hoboken: WileyBlackwell, 2015. 105-107. Web.
Pool, Eugene H. "The Child in Sarah Orne Jewett." Colby Quarterly 7.11 (1976): 503-509.
Colby Quarterly. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.
Plourde, Aubrey E. "A Woman's World: Sarah Orne Jewett's Regionalist Alternative." Rollins
Undergraduate Research Journal 5.1 (2011): 1-9. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
"Silva." Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 2015. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

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Bianca Keesler
April 30, 2015
ENGL220 The Short Story
Analysis of Symbols in A White Heron: Annotated Bibliography
Church, Joseph. Romantic Flight in Jewetts White Heron. Studies in American Fiction 30.1
(2002): 1-10. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Joseph Church wrote this article to discuss Sarah Orne Jewetts A White Heron.
The article looks at the story and how different romantic instances are shown. It
gives researchers information about the meaning behind Sylvias awakened
sexuality and how she utilizes what she learns about herself to make her final
choice about giving up the herons location. This article was very beneficial
because it goes in depth about Sylvias journey and gives a more detailed
perspective about the symbols within Jewetts story.
Griffith, Kelley, Jr. "Sylvia as Hero in Sarah Orne Jewett's "A White Heron." Colby Quarterly
21.1 (1985): 22-27. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.
This critical study talks about Sylvia as fitting in a hero archetype. It also
discusses the ambiguity in the last paragraph in A White Heron. This article
gave a different interpretation of Sylvia and her character development, but it was
only useful in a small amount. The important information regarded Eugene Pools
analysis of Sarah Orne Jewett. This helped give researchers information about
Jewett as a person.
Nagel, James. "Sarah Orne Jewett." American Short Story Handbook. Hoboken: WileyBlackwell, 2015. 105-107. Web.

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James Nigel writes about Sarah Orne Jewett as a writer and mentions the purpose
of A White Heron. This article was helpful because it gave information of the
white heron as a species and why they were being hunted during that time period.
It also mentions that Jewetts purpose for wring the story was to help bring
awareness to the decline in the herons population and how important it was to
protect the bird.
Pool, Eugene H. "The Child in Sarah Orne Jewett." Colby Quarterly 7.11 (1976): 503-509.
Colby Quarterly. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.
Eugene Pool gives his ideas on what he believes affected Jewett and her literary
works. He is very critical of her life and believed that the loss of her father really
stunted her in a way. He further believed that she was stuck in a state of wanting
to be a child when she was actually an adult. This actually helped researchers gain
a clearer understanding of Jewett and her character but, it was very critical
towards her and it only gives one persons perspective. To have a more rounded
opinion of Jewett, one would need to look at other critics and their beliefs.
Plourde, Aubrey E. "A Woman's World: Sarah Orne Jewett's Regionalist Alternative." Rollins
Undergraduate Research Journal 5.1 (2011): 1-9. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
Aubrey Plourde looks about Sarah Orne Jewetts A White Heron and how she
fits into a womans world. This article looks at Sylvias character and how she
shows self-sufficiency in a male dominated world, and how she acts like a woman
in love. The article also looks at the meaning behind Sylvias journey and her
transcendental experience. It goes in depth about the sexual references behind the

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tree climbing and the transitions between femininity and masculinity within the
story. This article would be very useful for researchers because it gives thorough
and concise details about Jewetts story.