Symbolism In 'The Golden Darters'

The Not So Golden Daughter

“The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not twist them to fit our own image, otherwise we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them”- Thomas Merton. That being said, relationships change when people themselves change. And one of the most difficult relationships is the father-daughter bond. It is especially hard when the daughter is coming of age. In the short story “The Golden Darters” Elizabeth Winthrop uses symbolism to show when a person is always controlled, she typically rebels, causing disappointment.

In the beginning of the story, Winthrop uses symbolism to describe Emily’s father’s controlling behavior. To the family's surprise, Emily's father, Gerald, tells

Emily to come and try to tie a fly with him. Making her work with him was his way of luring her into a relationship. As Emily was sitting with her father trying to tie a fly she says, “It was my fear of failing him that made me hesitate. I knew that my father put his trust in his results, not the learning process”(148). Like a fishhook, Gerald was trying to “reel” her in by teaching her to tie a fly. On the other hand, Emily feels uncomfortable and scared of her father's sudden interest. It is clear that he makes the decisions for others and has a very controlling manner. Right after Emily's mother wanted her to go upstairs, her dad responded, “Go upstairs all of you. Emily and I will be up when we are done. Go on, for God’s sake stop staring at us”(149). Gerald has a very powerful demeanor. His decisions overrule others in his family. For Emily's whole life he has given her little freedom to express herself. As the story goes on, Emily dreads her time with her father. She tries to get out of making the darters, but Gerald always finds his way in. Feeling discomfort when tying flies, Emily feels “...All alone, as trapped under [her] father's piercing gaze as the hook in the grip of his vise”(150). Emily feels trapped when she is with her father. She would rather be doing anything else then making fish hooks. Ultimately, Gerald “luring” Emily in with his overbearing attitude is only making matters worse for their relationship.
Consequently, the author uses symbolism to prove how teenagers typically rebel as they come of age. That summer Emily couldn’t resist participating in actions that her parents wouldn't approve of. Even with her father's lack of freedom she still “...talked about boys and smoked illicit cigarettes in Randy Kidd’s basement and held leg-shaving parties in her bedroom behind a safely locked door”(151-152). When Emily isn't tying flies with her father, she is hanging out with her friends doing typical things girls do as they grow up. While Emily is preoccupied with her friends, she debates on whether or not to pierce her ears. She goes along with it anyways, knowing her parents would “kill” her. Giving in to her friends pressure, Emily acknowledges that “Randy was right…[her] parents didn't notice. Even when [her] ears became infected, [she] didn't tell them”(152). Incidentally, Emily is maturing. She is going against her parents, knowing that if they find out, they would be furious with her. On the night of the club dance, Emily wears darters that her father had given her, as earrings. Emily is thrilled at the dance knowing she stood out. When talking about how the earrings made her feel, Emily says “I liked the way they made me look- free and different and dangerous even. And they even made Randy notice”(152) By and large Emily’s “maturity” is changing her. She loves who she is when she is wearing those earrings and how the “cool girl” even notices. Because of her father being too controlling, Emily rebelled as a typical teenager would.
Finally, Elizabeth Winthrop uses the literary term, symbolism, to describe Emily’s parent’s disappointment.

When Emily comes back from the dance her mother noticed her ears right away. Angrily her mother says, “What has gotten into you, Emily? You know that you were forbidden to pierce your ears until you were in college. This is appalling”(153). Emily's rebellion against her parents causes major disappointment. Her parents didn't recognize that she was changing, until they saw her ears. Emily doesn't care about what her mother thinks, she only wants her dad's opinion. She wants him to be proud of her, that she used the skills he taught her to make the earrings. But as Emily asks for her father's thoughts, “He stared at [her] for a long moment as if he didn't know who [she] was anymore, as if [she] were a trusted associate who had committed some treacherous unspeakable act”(153). Gerald's main intention of the darters is to make him and Emily closer. What he realizes is that he can't control her anymore, and that makes him extremely distressed. Emily asks her father about whether or not the earrings look good on her. As she patiently waits for a response, Gerald stands up and stares at her for a long time. Then he finally says, “No they don't” … “They’re hanging upside down” Then he turned off the light and [she] couldn't see his face anymore”(154). Gerald is having trouble racking his brain around his little girl growing up. He disapproves with her rebellious actions. As result of Emily's behavior, her parents were disappointed in her

disobedience.
In relationships, it never works out when one side controls the other. This is especially true when it comes a father-daughter bond. “The Golden Darters” uses the symbolism of a fishhook to describe Emily and her father, Gerald’s, relationship. In the beginning of the story her father uses tying flies as a way to get closer to Emily. She dreads it, and rebels against her parents, which eventually causes them to be very upset with her. In contrast, Emily does not view the flies as a way for her father and her to bond, and actually uses them as a device to express her maturity. Emily’s manipulation of the flies was to express her independence from her parents. That opposes Gerald’s main purpose for the flies, which was for him and Emily to spend time together. In essence, the flies symbolize Emily and her father’s relationship. Gerald tries to employ the flies as a way for them to come together, while Emily uses the flies to show her growing up. Eventually the darters tear the two further apart. Essentially Elizabeth Winthrop uses symbolism to demonstrate how hard a steady father-daughter relationship can be.