Tag: gender

A White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett: Nature and Femininity

By Samantha McDonough 

Core Text: 

Jewett, Sarah Orne. A White Heron and Oter Stories. HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN, 1887. 

Summary:

Jewett’s A White Heron was first published in 1886 and has become one of the author’s most famous short stories. The story follows a young girl named Sylvia who lives with her grandmother on a small farm surrounded by forest. Sylvia’s life revolves around her love for nature and spends her days helping her grandmother with farm chores and mingling with the forest animals. Her life is peaceful and fulfilling and the young girl feels as though she belongs in nature. However, when a young hunter arrives, looking to capture the rare white heron, Sylvia begins to shift in her comfortability. Sylvia, despite her initial fear and shyness around the hunter, begins to develop love for him and agrees to help him locate the bird. Sylvia is forced to confront her connection to nature and desire for a ‘normal life’. Her overwhelming desire to protect wildlife and explore nature begin to take precedence over her wants of money and romantic love. Sylvia’s journey in A White Heron questions a young girl’s relationship to the natural world, life-altering decisions and feelings of regret. 

Setting 

South Berwick, Maine which is where Jewett’s family was from. Jewett has said that many of her short stories are based in the area where she grew up. Sylvia in A White Heron may be based on a younger Sarah Orne Jewett.

The White Heron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYSM2f94Uhg

This video depicts the White Heron, more commonly known as the Great Egret, which is the bird Jewetts story is focussed around. The birds are a magnificent sight, standing at around three feet tall, and a five foot wingspan. The sighting of this bird is understandably rare for the characters in our story, as they are not typically localized in Maine. 

Literary Analysis: 

On the surface, this is simply a story about a young girl who is deeply connected to nature and is protecting a white heron from a male hunter. Jewett uses symbolism and other literary devices to address issues of womanhood, environmentalism, and personal growth, The story focuses on womens’ inherent ability to focus on the importance of nature and the parallels between the oppression of women by the patriarchy and the exploitation of nature. Sylvia, who can be looked at as the feminine perspective, has a deep admiration for nature and birds and is entranced by the white heron. Jewett uses Sylvia as a device to describe the feminine outlook on nature. The hunter can be looked at as the masculine or patriarchal perspective and also claims to have admiration for the bird, but is hunting with the intention of killing it. Sylvia, or the feminine perspective, takes on a motherly and preserving role for nature, while the patriarchy seeks to monetize, comotify and benefit from nature. Jewett also addressed Sylvia’s internal struggle between following her passion (nature) and her instinctive desire for love, of which she feels for the first time in her childhood with the hunter. 

Resources:

WESS, ROBERT. “Geocentric Ecocriticism.”, Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, vol. 10, no. 2, 2003, pp. 1–19. www.jstor.org/stable/44086141. 

In this journal, author Robert Wess discusses the concept of geocentric ecocriticism and how we can look at works of literature through this lens. Wess argues that “to humanize the nonhuman is to anthropocentrize it and in that sense to falsify it.” Wess connects this concept to A White Heron in his analysis of the story where discusses the actions of Sylvia, the hunter, and Sylvia’s grandmother. He talks about the hunter’s connection to nature and how it is damaging to nature itself. He also criticizes Sylvia’s connection to nature as well, despite its typical analysis being pure and protecting. Wess looks critically at her relationship to nature, arguing that her love of nature, in of itself, is selfish. This article offers an interesting perspective to the deep roots of human relation to nature. 

Pratt, Annis. “Women and Nature in Modern Fiction.”, Contemporary Literature, vol. 13, no. 4, 1972, pp. 476–480, www.jstor.org/stable/1207443 

In this journal, Annis Pratt analyses women’s relation to nature in numerous stories, including Jewett’s A White Heron. Pratt goes into detail in her analysis of Slyvia’s decisions and how they relate to her connection to nature and her own desires. Pratt discusses the internal struggle that Sylvia undergoes as a result of her interactions with both the hunter and the white heron. She is at a crossroads in her mind and is torn between her internal desire for romantic love with a man and her deep connection with nature. Pratt discusses the underlying connection women in literature have with nature and how that can be recognized in popular fiction.

Held, George. “Heart to Heart with Nature: Ways of Looking at ‘A White Heron.’” Colby Quarterly , vol. 18, no. 1, Mar. 1982, pp. 55–65. 

George Held, in this article, looks deeper at A White Heron and analyzes the text’s literary significance through a new lens. Held analyzes Jewetts literary devices and how they are used to further the underlying themes of the story. He looks at how the symbolism in Sylvia and the hunter characters develop throughout the story and how that lends to themes of gender, feminism, and personal growth. 

Discussion Questions:

  • How does Sylvia’s perception of nature differ from that of the hunter? How does the hunter’s anthropocentric perception of nature affect his actions toward it?
  • Despite this story being written much earlier than the large environmental movement began, how does Jewett communicate themes of environmentalism throughout the story? 
  • How does Sylvia’s difficulty with her decision to help the Hunter relate to her socialized gender roles?

A White Heron, Sarah Orne Jewett: Nature’s Relation to Wildlife, Gender, and Industrialization

By Mackenzie Ridilla

Core Text

Jewett, Sarah Orne. “A White Heron.” Edited by Terry Heller, Jewett Texts, www.public.coe.edu/~theller/soj/awh/heron.htm.

Summary

On a June evening in the New England countryside a little girl named Sylvia is walking home through a forest with her cow. Sylvia has moved to the countryside to help her grandmother Mrs. Tilley, and while living on the farm she has developed a spirit and love for nature. Sylvia realizes she is late and needs to arrive home. Sylvia and the cow stop at a brook for a break, the little girl hears a whistle from a young ornithologist who approaches her asking to spend a night at her home. Sylvia walks the man and the cow back to her farm where the young man is offered food and a place to sleep. Sylvia’s grandmother makes conversation with the man and explains how Sylvy is an explorer at heart and extremely attached to nature. The hunter sees this as an opportunity to tell the small family that he collects and preserves birds. He gushes over how he would love to find the white heron and would give ten dollars to whoever could find it for him, but Sylvia, even though she has seen the bird in the marshes, does not reveal anything about the bird’s location. During the next day, Sylvia accompanies the hunter and forms a small crush on him even though she dislikes his hobby. 

That night, Sylvia is unable to fall asleep and instead travels to the great pine tree to try and spot the white heron. She bravely climbs to the top of the great pine and is amazed by the beauty of her surroundings. She then witnesses the white heron in the marshes where the bird flies past the great pine to an adjacent tree closer to Sylvia. After viewing the white heron and its nest, Sylvia makes her way down the pine and back home where her grandmother and the hunter were awaiting her arrival. After going through the work of finding the white heron’s nest, Sylvia debates the importance of the bird’s life in comparison to the money that the hunter could provide for her family. But eventually she decides to not reveal the bird’s location to the eager hunter, and he leaves disappointed. Sylvia is never fully sure if she made the right decision.

The author Sarah Orne Jewett was also a New England resident as she was born in South Berwick, Maine during the year 1849. Throughout her career, she has been inspired to create literary works based on her New England surroundings. 

This short story focuses on Sylvia’s direct relationship to all her natural surroundings and how her values reflect her lifestyle. She is placed between man and nature and learns to be the bridge between industry and the environment.

Literary Analysis

Sarah Orne Jewett implements several literary techniques such as imagery, selective point-of-view, and personification to emphasize mankind’s environmental impact on concepts relating to wildlife, gender roles, and industrialization pressures.

Throughout the entirety of her short story, Sarah Orne Jewett includes imagery to develop an elegant and saturated environment for Sylvia to explore. As the little girl reached the top of the great pine, she notices that “the heron has perched on a pine bough not far beyond yours, and cries back to his mate on the nest and plumes his feathers for the new day!” (Jewett). The detailed descriptions of the white heron’s appearance and behaviors is used to demonstrate its role in the environment. The pair of snowy egrets are described as living peacefully in their surroundings. Their seclusion and rare beauty are the factors that make them desirable for a hunter who is too consumed by his artificial background. The separation between the city-life and pure nature is apparent in Jewett’s inclusion of intricate setting. 

Other literary devices that Jewett includes to display man’s interaction with the natural environment are selective point-of-view and personification. For the majority of the short story, Jewett writes in the perspective of the Sylvia, a young girl. Just as Sylvia is about to reveal the white heron’s location, she recalls “[t]he murmur of the pine’s green branches is in her ears” and “she remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together” (Jewett). As evident in her thought-process, Sylvia has a strong connection and appreciation for the environment. This inclination toward the preservation of nature correlates to the stereotype of women being more in touch with nature and how they are more sensitive to issues relating to the environment. Additionally, the personification of living aspects of nature provides Sylvia with nurturing surroundings that act as loved ones. It is as if Sylvia’s environment is as much of a factor in her life as any human. When her surroundings become integrated with her life, it represents the intense relationship between femininity and nature. Then the differences between the natural world and our manufactured institutions accumulate to form a stark contrast.

Brian Kirhagis Paintings: Also known as BK The Artist, Brian Kirhagis is a painter who has created a series of artwork titled E.A.R.T.H. to showcase and celebrate “Mother Earth.” In this series he paints portraits of women in grounded poses, but the aspect that makes his work unique is his incorporation of surrealism. Each figure is composed of lush elements of nature that add to the vibrancy of the piece. This series’ goal is to display the interconnectedness between women and the earth.

Resources

  • Joseph, Sheri. “Sarah Orne Jewett’s White Heron: An Imported Metaphor.” American Literary Realism, 1870-1910, vol. 27, no. 3, 1995, pp. 81–84. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27746628. Accessed 6 Aug. 2021. This article analyses Sarah Orne Jewett’s reasoning behind including the white heron as her symbol of nature’s vulnerability. As discussed in the article, the white heron, or snowy egret, was rarely spotted in areas north of Georgia by the year 1900 due to excessive hunting. Only after the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act was passed in 1918 were these birds expanding into the northeastern United States. Jewett’s fable, published in 1886, changes the location of these birds’ natural habitat from subtropical Florida to New England. She also alters these birds’ behaviors. The short story depicts a sole pair of herons nesting together where, in actuality, this species primarily nests in large colonies. These changes to the behavior of the snowy egrets were not because of Jewett’s lack of knowledge; however, these alterations were purposeful in exhibiting the need for environmental activism and the extent of nature’s vulnerability. By illustrating the white herons as extremely rare and secluded, Jewett exposes the birds’ vulnerability to predation from mankind and how these symbols of innocence and peace are becoming more fabricated as man attempts to dominate the environment. Additionally, Jewett chose to write about the snowy egret in an inaccurate setting to discourage the industry from hunting these birds for fashion and sport.
  • Orr, Elaine. “Reading Negotiation and Negotiated Reading: A Practice with /in ‘A White Heron’ and ‘The Revolt of ‘Mother’ “.” CEA Critic, vol. 53, no. 3, 1991, pp. 49–65. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44377067. Accessed 6 Aug. 2021. In her article, Elaine Orr analyzes how Sylvia’s relationship with the young hunter demonstrates the connection between women and nature. The hunter in Jewett’s story deliberately formed a relationship with Sylvia in order to learn the location of the white heron’s nest. This man manipulates a little girl in hopes of exploiting nature for his own benefit. It is made clear that Sylvia has an inherent connection to her surroundings which makes her an excellent bridge between the persistent pull of industrialization, exhibited by the hunter, and the pure beauty and innocence of the natural environment, represented by the white heron. Sylvia is described as both innocent and courageous which reflects each stereotype involving masculinity and femininity.  Sylvia is characterized as “small and silly” while she began her journey up the great pine “with utmost bravery,” which were seen as contradictory traits during the time period in which this story was published (Jewett). This blend of tenacity, associated with masculinity, and delicacy, associated with femininity, adequately demonstrates the push and pull between the masculine industry and feminine nature.
  • El Bizri, Hani R., et al. “The Thrill of the Chase: Uncovering Illegal Sport Hunting in Brazil through YouTube™ Posts.” Ecology and Society, vol. 20, no. 3, 2015. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26270243. Accessed 13 Aug. 2021. In the article, Hani R. El Bizri, Thaís Q. Morcatty, Jéssica J. S. Lima and João Valsecchi analyze the instances of illegal sport hunting in Brazil through the social media platform known as YouTube™. Their study suggests that the sport hunters are wealthy Brazilian citizens that severely question the environmental regulations and policies installed by the Brazilian government. The research reveals the immense popularity of sport hunting in Brazil, despite its illegal status. The background of these avid hunters reflects the same urban setting as the ornithologist in Jewett’s short story. Their motivation and reasoning for hunting can also be connect as the article indicates that most hunters are in it for the pursuit and killing of game species. This article reflects on how the combination of hunting and conservationist actions can benefit the environment, though, the authors believe that this can only be successful if each hunter is cooperative. But this method will not follow through if the ornithologist represents the average hunter because the excessive hunting designated for collecting species severely damages ecosystems. The desire for trophies to demonstrate a “connection to nature” is counterintuitive. It is the contrast between an industrial, urban lifestyle and the purity of nature that urges humans to desire a piece for themselves. Additionally, the pressure for specific resources from nature pressures man to exploit the creatures that make the environment so remarkable.

Map of Snowy Egret Population Locations: This visual of various locations of the snowy egrets, or white herons, depicts the common American habitat for these birds as tropical and subtropical areas rather than the cooler climates of New England, the location of Jewett’s story. The text that is paired with this map provides additional information regarding this species’ battle against industry and fashion.

Discussion Questions

  • Why would Sarah Orne Jewett decide to include factual information in addition to inaccurate details about the white heron? Do you think that this mixture of contrasting elements is confusing to the reader? Why wouldn’t Jewett simply make the behavior and surroundings of the birds in her fable completely fabricated or entirely factual?
  • The women in Jewett’s tale, Sylvia and Mrs. Tilley, are distinctly separated from the male ornithologist through their true and profound appreciation for all aspects of nature. Does Jewett’s interpretation of femininity in relation to nature progress the feminist movement? Or does it place women in harmful stereotypes that prevent the expansion of gender roles?
  • Near the end of her short story, Jewett writes “[w]ere the birds better friends than their hunter might have been, — who can tell?” How does this question reflect Sylvia’s values? What about Jewett’s values? Considering that she has lived in both urban and rural settings, how has Sylvia’s surroundings impacted her choice in protecting the location of the white heron?