Solitude In A White Heron

Throughout the late 19th century following the Industrial Revolution, society became focused on urban life and began to neglect the importance of rural society and nature. In “A White Heron” Sarah Orne Jewett, through Sylvia’s decision to protect the heron, contemplates the importance of nature and rural society. In particular, Jewett employs the cow grazing scene to show the importance of and solitude that Sylvia finds in rural life. When the hunter appears and Sylvia accompanies him on his journey to find the bird, his actions and speech reveal the destructiveness of urban society on nature. The scene when Sylvia climbs the tree to find the heron, initially in order to please the hunter and satisfy her new love for him, shows her realization

When driving home her cow in the dark Sylvia’s “feet were familiar with the path, and it was no matter whether their eyes could see it or not” (Jewett 682). Sylvia is familiar with the woodlands to such an extent that she forms a strong physical connection to the natural world because even her “feet were familiar with the path.” She also refers to her cow as a “valued companion” and considers the cow’s pranks as an “intelligent attempt to play hide and seek” to which she responds to “with a good deal of zest” (Jewett 682). Sylvia escapes urban society because she was “afraid of folks,” and now relies on her “valued companion” to fulfill her need for friends and playmates. In doing so, the cow becomes the sole being she interacts with and consists of the totality of her amusement, which in turn prompts a close emotional attachment and relationship. Prior to coming to the farm, she had lived “in a crowded manufacturing town” but now feels “as if she had never been alive before.” Sylvia is content in her isolation from humanity at the farm where she only lives with her grandmother, and finally feels “alive” in a setting where she is alienated from other people and surrounded by nature and animals. She in turn seems content and welcomes her close relationship to the natural world around her and willingly gives up human interactions to achieve this. After trailing through the woods late into the night she feels “as if she were a part of the gray shadows and the moving leaves.” Sylvia comes to the realization that she becomes “a part of” and finds a sense of belonging in the natural world, which shows her close emotional