50 pages • 1 hour read
Barbara KingsolverFlight Behavior
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Monarch Butterflies
Content Warning: The novel and this guide contain discussions of child death/miscarriage, alcohol addiction, and suicide.
The monarch butterflies are a symbol of change, resilience, and hope, particularly with regard to Dellarobia and her life but also within the broader context of climate change and Nature, Life, and Rebirth. Dellarobia’s discovery of the insects fuses her fate with their own, and there are numerous parallels between the two, from the flame-red color of her hair to the bright orange butterflies that fill the forest. At the start of the novel, Dellarobia is headed up the path to end her marriage: to ruin her reputation and do something about the trap she finds herself in. This scenario is not unlike the butterflies, who have roosted in the wrong place and are facing a perilous future. As the cold weather settles in, many of the butterflies die. This imagery symbolizes Dellarobia’s personality and spirit, which have been slowly dying during her 11 years of marriage. Through the butterflies, Dellarobia finds a passion, a way to succeed in life, and the courage to break away from her bonds. Then, like the newborn butterflies, she will fly to the next stage of her existence.
Diapause
As Ovid explains to Dellarobia, the process of diapause is a hibernation of sorts in which the butterflies initiate a physical state of dormancy to survive unexpected and harsh weather conditions. An internal signal or instinct will then prompt them to awaken and begin to move on. Dellarobia’s metaphorical diapause mirrors that of the insects: She goes through 11 years of dormancy until the butterflies awaken her spirit and she realizes she has the same urge to survive and thrive. It is at that point that she decides to move on.
The Lab
Working for Ovid at the lab inspires Dellarobia to consider an alternative future to wasting away as Cub’s wife. In this regard, it plays a role in Dellarobia’s metaphorical diapause, acting as a symbol of the strength and resilience needed to survive the long months. The lab also hones Dellarobia’s self-confidence, as this is where she has multiple conversations with Ovid and determines that she is intelligent enough to go to college and consider contributing to the scientific community.
The Newborn Lamb
The newborn lamb that Dellarobia saves toward the end of the novel is important in two regards. First, Dellarobia does for the lamb what she couldn’t do for her first child: She saves the baby animal’s life. Unable to save her miscarried child, Dellarobia has carried that burden of grief with her for 11 years. By saving the lamb, some of that grief is lessened. Second, Dellarobia does not consider her efforts to save the lamb as a waste, much like how she does not see her years as Cub’s wife as a waste. She has two beautiful children as a result, but she also knows that to be the best mother to her children, she must divorce her husband and move to the next stage of her life. In both senses, the lamb represents the possibility of rebirth.
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By Barbara Kingsolver
