29 pages • 58 minutes read
Sylvia PlathInitiation
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1953A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Smiling and Laughter
Smiling and laughter are both motifs and activities the initiates are repeatedly told not to do. Louise and Bev warn Millicent multiple times against smiling during the initiation process. This discourages any enjoyment of hazing, which in turn discourages Millicent from wanting to join a group that she previously thought would be full of “merriment”; the motif suggests the unhappiness conformity inevitably entails, according to the story. Notably, even the smile Millicent offers Herb is as much social performance as it is genuine emotion. Wondering what to do when he approaches her, Millicent thinks, “I won’t say anything […] I’ll just smile very sweetly” (244). This effort to navigate the complicated rules surrounding hazing previews the self-policing of the sorority and the social world it represents—including Societal Pressure to Perform Femininity in Set Ways (e.g., “sweetly”). By contrast, Millicent responds with “spontaneous” and irrepressible laughter when she talks to the man on the bus, highlighting the genuineness of their connection and the value of individuality.
Birds
Though mentioned briefly early in the story, “heather birds” are not explained until the story’s climax. Through the fantastical description given by the man on the bus, heather birds come to symbolize the freedom of being oneself—one of many, yet definably unique. Millicent contrasts these fantastic birds with the sparrows that chirp outside of her window: “one like the other, all exactly alike” (247). The juxtaposition of the ordinary sparrows with the purple heather birds embodies the themes of Societal Acceptance Versus Independence and Fitting in Versus Standing Out, suggesting the cost of surrendering one’s individuality in order to be accepted as part of a group. This helps Millicent decide not to join the sparrow-like sorority and instead remain a heather bird, somewhat isolated but free. As Millicent steels herself to decline the sorority’s invitation, she seems to hear a “melodic fluting” that she interprets as the heather birds’ song. This gives her strength, affirming her decision.
Rodents
The story makes several symbolic references to rodents. The sorority calls all initiates “gophers,” symbolizing their low social status throughout the hazing ritual. The dehumanization allows the sorority members to treat the initiates as detestable and disposable. The initiates are also “go-fors”—a pun reflecting the initiates’ tasks during hazing, which include doing chores and carrying books for the older members.
Then there is the Rat Court: the trial by which each initiate is finally determined to be a full member or not. The name symbolizes the hierarchy to which the initiates belong. During Rat Court, Millicent is made to wait in the basement of a sorority member’s house. This indicates her relative lowness in the hierarchy—comparable to rats that scavenge for food others have discarded in dark, low places like basements. The references to rodents also contrast with the heather birds who fly high overhead, indicating the depths to which Millicent has sunk in an effort to fit in.
Related Titles
By Sylvia Plath
