The Symbolism Of Motifs In 'The River King'
Yoldi Villa
Ms. McSweeney
English 1 Honors
March 21, 2023
Love is stupid. Time and time again humans are made stupid because of love, and yet they can’t seem to bring themselves away from it. In joy or in sorrow, humans always seem to find their way back to love over and over again. Like love, a motif is a recurring element. Motifs are narrative elements with symbolic significance that connect back to a theme. Motifs are often used to help the reader understand a character or to reinforce a theme. Alice Hoffman uses the motif of swans in her novel, The River King to symbolize that when humans try to push love away, it will always come back to them.
First of all, when Hoffman is explaining Betsy’s role in the book, she mentions, “...[The]
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‘Scat,’ Abe said, to no effect. ‘Go on,’ Abe told the creature.” (Hoffman 139). Until now, Abe has been painted as the town's beauty, everyone wants to be with him but he doesn’t seem to like anyone in return, which could be why he’s so hesitant to like someone. The swan’s “approach” represents his feelings towards Betsy, he doesn’t realize it immediately but when he does he wants it to go away. He tries to make his new feelings go away but just like on the swan, his attempt has no effect and the feelings remain. Additionally, when Abe goes with Joey to the dean’s house and waits outside, he thinks, ”Just his luck, the pair nesting close by seemed interested in him; one had already begun to advance across the frozen grass… ’I'll cook you,’ he threatened. ‘I will.’” (Hoffman 217). Again, the swans are seen trying to get near Abe, love is trying his find his way back to him. They’re interested in him just like he’s interested in Betsy, despite his best efforts he always comes back to her. The fact that the swans are moving along frozen grass suggests that they are navigating dangerous terrain. This is reflected in Abe’s relationship with Betsy because she’s an engaged woman and yet they still meet each other, making their relationship at the time risky or unpredictable. Abe’s threats to the swans
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