32 pages • 1 hour read
Sarah Orne JewettA White Heron
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1886A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Protecting the Natural World
The most prominent theme is conservation, for the story’s central conflict revolves around the white heron. As a symbol of independence and nature’s wonders, the heron’s life is in Sylvia’s hands. She can protect the wilderness she adores, or destroy a part of it. In the end, Sylvia defends the heron (and thus the natural world at large) after she has a moment of enlightenment at the pine tree’s top. She watches the heron flying and feels connected to him; this bond and delight in the heron solidify Sylvia’s decision to leave the forest as untouched as possible. Thus, in the climax, she “cannot tell the heron’s secret and give its life away” (679).
Denying the hunter his ambition is a microcosm of the Conservation Movement and environmental activism. Sylvia safeguards the woods, considers them sacred, and treats the animals and plants as equals, almost like family. Her principles lead her to believe that nature is worth more than riches and that the outdoors is a priceless home she must protect. Her values are shared by many others throughout the history of the Conservation Movement.
Environmentalism is deeply embedded in the story. Every page includes vivid depictions of plants or animals, and personification is used often to build a human-animal connection. For instance, Mrs. Tilley describes Sylvia as being of the woods, not separate from it: “There ain’t a foot o’ ground she don’t know her way over, and the wild creatur’s counts her one o’ themselves. Squer’ls she’ll tame to come and feed right out o’ her hands, and all sorts o’ birds” (673). Sylvia shares her food with her wild friends, wanting the birds and critters to have sustenance. She calls her cow a “companion” and can even identify different birds’ calls as “friendly.” She’s so attuned and bonded with nature that she cannot support its destruction.
In another scene, when Sylvia sneaks out of the house toward the pine tree, she listens to the woods “with a sense of comfort and companionship” (676), building her attachment to the scenic environment. She reflects on the fact that if the “great wave of human interest” (676) would erase the “satisfactions of an existence heart to heart with nature” (676), life would be dull and unfulfilling. Without nature, she believes her life would be empty. Sylvia’s high regard for nature only grows when she reaches the pine tree’s peak and gazes upon the majestic white heron.
Embracing Youth and Innocence
Sylvia’s sexuality is stirred as she gets to know the “handsome” hunter. Although she’s only nine, she feels her sleeping “woman’s heart” becoming “vaguely thrilled by a dream of love” (675). Spending time with the hunter and discussing birds and their characteristics, Sylvia is swept up in his charms, calling him “delightful” and grieving when they don’t find the heron together. But there is an implied significant age difference between her and the hunter. Sylvia might have lost herself and her values if she gave in to the hunter’s objectives. She’s too young for a romantic relationship and would have “loved him as a dog loves” (679), not anything more than a loyal and subordinate friend.
At no point in the story does Sylvia imagine even kissing the hunter, despite the fact she thinks he’s attractive and “well worth making happy” (679). Their relationship would be inappropriate, though her feelings are understandable and natural for a child of her age. She doesn’t comprehend how to be in a romantic relationship. Her youthfulness and innocence remain intact, as she doesn’t act on her romantic feelings for the hunter. She affirms her love of nature instead by saving the heron’s life.
The theme of embracing one’s youth and innocence is a core part of the plot’s trajectory. Sylvia remains as youthful and innocent as she can, for nature embraces her and her “spirit of adventure” and “wild ambition” (675)—unlike the hunter who barely knows her. The forest accepts and loves her, while the hunter is only interested in the white heron. She also doesn’t like or understand the violence and masculinity of his gun, another passage that reveals her youth and innocence.
Additional youthful traits include her observant, thoughtful ways, playing with and speaking with animals as friends, her shy attitude, and her fear of people and communicating with them. Perhaps Sylvia will outgrow her severe shyness, but her innocent, childlike spirit and adoration for wilderness are essential parts of her character.
Sylvia shows immaturity through her silence too, as she doesn’t understand the significance of the $10 reward or how much her family could benefit from the financial assistance. The hunter “can make them rich with money” (678), but Sylvia isn’t greedy like many adults. She doesn’t compromise her childhood beliefs about nature’s preciousness.
The Individual’s Role in Conservation
This theme is relevant in character arcs—including Sylvia and the hunter—and also as an underlying message presented through the plot. Though she is just one girl, Sylvia has the power to make a life-saving difference. When she decides to keep the heron’s home secret, Sylvia rescues the bird from death. She is aware of her power because only she could lead the hunter to the heron, but she consciously chooses to “not speak after all,” even when her grandmother chastises her and the hunter implores her with his “kind, appealing eyes” (678). Sylvia’s actions showcase the theme of the individual’s role in conservation—not only in the extreme case of saving the heron’s life but also in connecting wholeheartedly with the woods and wildlife “companions.” She values wild animals and plants equally to humans.
After her epiphany atop the pine tree, she further explores this theme of the individual’s role in conservation when she realizes that wilderness can only remain pure if left untouched. Unlike the hunter, Sylvia doesn’t believe in tampering with nature, especially to the point of destroying innocent birds. From this aerial view in the treetop, Sylvia gazes upon the setting, seeing the hills covered with trees, the marsh, the sea, and other natural features, but also houses, churches, sailboats, and farms. Sylvia observes that humans’ influence is evident in even her rural environment. Even the mention of the “shady wood road” at the story’s start and the hunter searching for the main road show that humans are changing the shape of the countryside (670). Mankind has already invaded the wilderness, but people like Sylvia are conscientious enough to live in harmony with nature and protect it.
The hunter also plays a role when he kills birds. He explains that he has been building a “collection of birds” (673). He hunts, kills, and stuffs the birds to preserve them when the real preservation would be to keep the birds alive. Though the hunter doesn’t believe his actions are wrong, he affects nature through his hunting. In this period, the white heron was hunted nearly to extinction. It survived thanks to people like Sylvia recognizing humanity’s role in the larger world and safeguarding species and their habitats. Thus, this theme implies a larger ideal that each of us has a responsibility to protect nature. Jewett implies that humans must preserve the natural world—and every individual can make a positive difference.
