Who does not know the adventurous stories of characters like Huckleberry Finn or Holden Caulfield - the Bildungsroman is quite a popular genre of American fiction. Generally portraying an adolescent protagonist on his way towards maturity, the image of coming-of-age, alternatively called initiation, is also a common topic of short stories. These short stories basically deal with the protagonist's shocking confrontation with (usually) one hitherto unknown aspect of the adult world, which offers the protagonist the possibility of development and "growing up".
A short story that contains such an initiation process is Sarah One Jewett's "A White Heron". Sylvia, the nine year old protagonist, gets confronted with female suppression in a patriarchal society, embodied by a nameless hunter who tries to find a rare bird in order to kill it for his collection. Feeling more and more attracted by the hunter due to the awakening of her own sexuality, Sylvia wants to please him and is tempted to reveal the bird's hide after having found it herself when climbing a tree. However, the protagonist decides to remain silent at the end of the story and not to give the bird's life away.
Literary scholars have argued that, with regard to the protagonist's initiation, there are generally two readings of the story: on the one hand, one can read it as Sylvia's successful process of self-discovery and her initiation into the secret of nature, but on the other hand it can also be read as Sylvia's anti-initiation into sexuality and society.
This paper is going to argue that these two readings of the story are not incompatible, but that Sylvia's initiation occurs on two different levels within the story and that her successful initiation into the secret of nature even requires her rejection of submitting herself to male dominance and her anti-initiation into (hetero-)sexuality.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Story of Initiation
2.1 The Term in its Literary Context
2.2 The Journey of Initiation
2.3 Different Types of Initiation
3. Aspects of Initiation in Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron“
3.1 The Masculine Intruder in the Female World
— The Awakening of Sylvia’s Sexuality
3.2 Sylvia’s Process of Self-Discovery and her Initiation into the Secret of Nature
3.3 Sylvia’s (Anti-)Initiation into Sexuality
4. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Core Themes
The primary objective of this work is to demonstrate that the protagonist's initiation in Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron“ occurs on two distinct, intertwined levels: a successful initiation into the secrets of nature and an anti-initiation into human sexuality and patriarchal societal norms.
- The literary framework of the "story of initiation" and the "journey of initiation."
- The role of the masculine intruder in a harmonious female world.
- The protagonist's process of self-discovery through nature.
- The rejection of heterosexual submission and the maintenance of identity.
- The socio-cultural significance of the protagonist’s choices in a nineteenth-century context.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 Sylvia’s Process of Self-Discovery and her Initiation into the Secret of Nature
Tempted by the hunter’s promise, Sylvia decides to find the heron on her own the next day and thereby undergoes a process of self-discovery and gets initiated into the secret of nature.
Being excited about the hunter and his offer, Sylvia cannot sleep and leaves the farm early in the morning to climb an old pine tree, hoping that she can see the heron’s nest from above. With regard to Freese’s model of the journey of initiation (175), one can determine the girl’s climbing to represent the second “exit phase“ within the story, which is connected to a strong imagery. Starting her dangerous journey in the dark, it turns out to be “harder than she thought“ (Jewett 602), but the higher the protagonist gets, the brighter the descriptions of the atmosphere become, as the “sparrows and robins . . . [are] beginning to wake“ (Jewett 602) and the sun rises when Sylvia reaches the top of the tree. This image of enlightenment underlines the protagonist’s gaining of knowledge and maturity.
Climbing up the tree, Sylvia is portrayed in an animalistic way and the tree even helps her up, illustrating the protagonist’s return into the realm of nature. After having lost the unity due to her blinding affection for the hunter, Sylvia finally moves back to her old self, being in total balance with nature again. Questioning the symbol of the pine tree being “the last of its generation“ (Jewett 601), one can determine it to represent a leftover of a pre-technologized society. Furthermore, it can be seen as tree of knowledge, as Sylvia matures by climbing it. With regard to its’ role in Sylvia’s initiation process, one could claim the tree to function as a fatherly mentor, helping the girl on her way towards maturity.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the genre of the initiation story and presents the central thesis that Sylvia’s initiation occurs on two levels: a successful one into nature and a failed one into (hetero-)sexuality.
2. The Story of Initiation: This chapter explores the literary concept of initiation, including the theoretical models of the "journey of initiation" and the varying types of initiations defined by scholars like Freese and Marcus.
3. Aspects of Initiation in Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron“: This chapter analyzes the specific narrative of the short story, examining the disruption of the female world by the hunter and the resulting psychological developments in the protagonist.
4. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the arguments, confirming that Sylvia’s self-discovery and maintenance of feminine identity are fundamentally linked to her rejection of the hunter and his destructive societal influence.
Keywords
Initiation, Sarah Orne Jewett, A White Heron, Sylvia, Bildungsroman, Self-Discovery, Nature, Patriarchy, Sexuality, Anti-initiation, Female Identity, Literary Analysis, Journey of Initiation, Masculinity, Modernism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this analysis?
The work focuses on the initiation process of the protagonist, Sylvia, in Sarah Orne Jewett’s short story “A White Heron,” analyzing her development through a dual lens of nature and sexuality.
What are the main thematic areas explored?
The key themes include the journey of initiation in literature, the impact of patriarchal society on the female protagonist, the symbolism of nature, and the conflict between human desire and identity.
What is the research question or primary goal?
The primary goal is to prove that the two seemingly contradictory readings of the story—Sylvia’s successful self-discovery and her failed initiation into sexuality—are actually compatible and mutually dependent.
Which scientific methodology is applied here?
The author uses a literary analysis approach, applying established theoretical models of the "initiation story" (such as those by Peter Freese and Mordecai Marcus) to interpret the specific events and symbolism within Jewett’s narrative.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body examines the literary context of initiation, the specific symbolic interactions between Sylvia and the hunter, and her climactic realization while climbing the pine tree.
Which keywords best characterize this analysis?
Key terms include initiation, self-discovery, nature, sexuality, patriarchal society, feminine identity, and anti-initiation.
How does the author interpret the role of the hunter?
The hunter is viewed as a symbol of intrusive, stereotypical masculinity, violence, and technological corruption that threatens the protagonist's natural state.
What is the significance of the pine tree in the story?
The pine tree functions as a "tree of knowledge" and a mentor figure, facilitating Sylvia’s physical and spiritual ascent and her ultimate reconnection with the natural world.
Why is the initiation into sexuality described as an "anti-initiation"?
It is termed an "anti-initiation" because Sylvia’s ultimate decision to remain silent and refuse the hunter signifies a rejection of the expected transition into adult (hetero-)sexual life in exchange for maintaining her personal integrity.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2020, Aspects of Initiation in Sarah Orne Jewett's "A White Heron", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/1040923
