A White Heron | Sylvia as Hero in Sarah Orne Jewett’s A White Heron
In the following excerpt, the author examines some ways in which the character Sylvia from Jewett’s ‘‘A White Heron’’ fits the archetype of a hero, with attention paid especially to the conflict of ‘‘man versus society.’’
‘‘But what shall I do with my ‘White Heron’ now she is written? She isn’t a very good magazine story, but I love her, and mean to keep her for the beginning of my next book.’’ (Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett, ed. Annie Fields 1911, p. 60)
When Sarah Orne Jewett wrote these words to a friend, the Atlantic Monthly had rejected her story ‘‘A White Heron,’’ and she was puzzled about its artistic merit. But after it appeared in a collection of her stories in 1886, it immediately attracted compliments...
[The entire page is 2258 words long]
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