The prediction of birth for Sylvia begins while she tends to her chore of driving her cow home. They walk in the woods filled with shadows towards the western light that leads to her birth, when the character is recognized as special. In literary works the reference to shadows represents the prediction of death and the west signifies death, which in turn symbolizes Sylvia’s dying as a little girl and being resurrected

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as a woman. This is the stepping-stone in Sylvia becoming a woman.

Sylvia’s quest is to find her inner self and evolve into the independent woman she

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the woman because they were all ill-treated the same by men from children to adults. Even though she used a child to discuss this subject, in those days young girls coming of age journeys typically started at around age eight or nine because of untimely advances made by men.

The death to self that Sylvia experienced started in the beginning of the story when death is foreseen by the implication of shadows and walking towards the west. Her death to self starts when the enemy begins to show her affection by being charming and kind which ignites a fascination within her that awakens the woman inside Sylvia. The power of love begins to stir inside her heart, which can ultimately be the death of any childhood

In this story the rebirth Sylvia experienced was directly influenced by her return from the woods after watching the white heron fly out of its nest. Seeing it experience the freedom that she wanted for herself she realized what she had to do, watching from her perch on the old pine tree. Her rebirth was a sense of self that came over her which enlightened Sylvia to the fact that she would rather have freedom and the right to make her own decisions with the realization of being lonely then give up her passions, interests, and herself just to be with a man. She experienced rebirth into a life with choices. In her return a part of herself wants to tell the stranger what he wants to hear because she wants to be loved just as any woman would. But her conscious stops her from giving her soul away. She comes into her woman hood when

Some topics in this essay:
Human Experience, Orne Jewett, , White Heron, male stranger, coming age, sylvia experienced, death self, white heron, white heron’s, women hood,