The Role Of Nature In Sarah Orne Jewett's A White Heron

Flourishing nature is most beauteous in areas which have not been maimed by the human race. The idea that spiritual and philosophical wellness can be found in nature is supported world-wide. Many different cultures use their eco-rich surroundings to become more spiritually/philosophically endowed. In the short story “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett there are two fundamental relationships with society and nature that reflect the author’s point of view in support of this idea. The first is a good example of how nature can positively affect the spiritual/philosophical wellness of a person through an appreciative, loving, and tolerant relationship (Sylvia). The second is a destructive, parasitic relationship that is only beneficial to one party (the hunter). Sylvia struggles with her loyalty to her own innocence and respect of nature because of the exciting new possibilities the hunter promises to her. I will elaborate on topics such as the nature of Sylvia’s relationships, the narrator’s point of view, and the writing style in the text to demonstrate an understanding of how the author saw the relationship of society and nature in “A White Heron”.

Sylvia comes from a tightly packed city and is referred to as “trying to grow” but could not because she was too cramped. This parallels her to being

some sort of shrub/plant which could be another way Sylvia is connected to nature. Sylvia is shown to have a deep connection with animals and her foliate surroundings. The author introduces the reader to Sylvia taking a slow walk home with her friend, “Mistress Moolly” (the cow) they play hide and seek together. Sylvia considers the cow a friend, on the same plane of respect for any other human being. This demonstrates Sylvia’s deep understanding and respect for nature. A person who is not in as much contact with nature as Sylvia is, like the hunter, would not understand this relationship with the cow but would rather see the cow as a smelly uncooperative animal that is wasting precious time. Sylvia “has nothing but time” which allows her to spend more of her own time in nature. The more time one spends being somewhere/ doing something within nature, the more attuned one will become with nature. She is “horror-stricken” to hear a man’s whistle rather than a bird’s whistle. this shows that she is very sheltered from any other human contact. the hunter offers money and human companionship to sylvia, this offering could be very valuable to sylvia seeing that she is stuck in the middle of a farm with no friends and not much entertainment. because sylvia values nature more than any material man-made things, the author says at the end “Whatever treasures were lost to her, woodlands and summer-time, remember!” conveying that she will forever remember the beautiful creatures and plants that she got to know and experience rather than remember any “treasure[s]” she was given that would surely perish all while being of no use/entertainment to sylvia. Sylvia has a mystical experience climbing up the giant oak tree where she encounters the white heron that the hunter is desperately searching for. when she meets the white heron they “watch the sea together” in peace. the meeting creates a big impact on Sylvia and she inherently decides not to give away the location of the white heron to the hunter.
I was afraid that Sylvia was going to be mistaken for a white heron when she was up in the tree. the climb was super suspenseful. There is a sneaking suspicion that hunter is slightly infatuated with sylvia. the way he describes her “pale skin” and “sparkling grey eyes”. the hunter kills and collects pieces of nature. he is a representation of sexuality and advanced technology. the hunter realizes that sylvia is a unique girl that is in touch with nature which could help him to succeed in collecting more exotic species. this could also be a metaphor for sylvia being an exotic species that he is trying to kill and collect by enticing her to give away the location of the heron and if she did, he would bring her along (collect her) on his trips which would kill Sylvia’s innocence and respect for nature. his gun is a phallic symbol which represents the sexuality aspect. sylvia is in between becoming a young woman and being an innocent girl, "the woman's heart, asleep in the child, [...] vaguely thrilled by a dream of love". once sylvia starts to have feelings for the hunter, she is less threatened by the gun than when she first met the man. In the middle of reminiscing about “the great red-faced boy who used to chase and frighten her” she is startled to hear “a boy’s whistle”. Seeing that she did not have a good experience with a boy in the past, the reader can understand her feeling of horror. An underlying meaning to her sudden reminiscing may be that she was so attuned with the nature around her that she subconsciously could sense the “boy’s” presence.
The story is told from mostly Sylvia’s point of view. The author encourages the reader to be on Sylvia’s side of the matter about the white heron’s location. The descriptive imagery of the simple pine tree brings out an esoteric style of writing rather than the realistic style that the story starts out with. We see Sylvia being portrayed as a heroin with characteristics from “small and silly” to having a “brave, beating heart”. Much like a bird that wants to fly away but knows not where it goes, Sylvia sets off to climb the tree initially to “sweep away the satisfactions of an existence heart to heart with nature and the dumb life of the forest!”. However we find that she realizes her deep appreciation for her new home, away from the city, when she climbs the “great main-mast to the voyaging earth”. The author’s endearing descriptions of nature provide the reader with the same respect that Sylvia has for nature. It is important for the reader have a good understanding of the feelings Sylvia has for nature. A good story usually allows the reader to feel what the characters feel as a means of leading a different life than they may be realistically.
There is another pair of relationships that Sylvia is found in but is not blatantly stated. She is in a relationship/love with the hunter and at the same time is in a relationship/love with the environment. The hunter is a more beneficial relationship to Sylvia in reality because of all the things he can provide her with (a better life outside of the small town farm she lives in, love and money). However, she does not know the hunter like she knows and respects the environment. Sylvy has spent more time with nature and therefore has a higher value of it. Not only has it become her companion but also her lover. The trees act as another symbol of sexuality, unlike the gun, they are not linked to a man and do not command Sylvy’s compliance. Climbing the trees is an act that Sylvy has chosen and is left to her own devices. The tree is described as requiting it’s love for Sylvy when the text says “The old pine must have loved it’s new dependent”.
Jewett’s descriptive writing style is partially realistic and partially romanticized, about nature and society.

She succeeds in extending a sense of sympathy for her characters and intricate details about the nature that the author herself has experienced. Jewett has a deep appreciation for natural beauty and wishes that society would learn how to appreciate nature without strangling it, like the hunter did. The author sees the relationship between society and nature as being in need of some tolerance and recognition. Sylvia is an example of the ideal relationship; although she wants to please the huntsman, ultimately she would also be sentencing the white heron to

death.