In January, 1793, a French aeronaut named Jean Pierre Blanchard launched the first hot-air balloon to be flown in the United States, taking off from Philadelphia and landing 15 miles away in New Jersey. Most of Philadelphia’s population witnessed the takeoff, and Mattie vividly remembers the event. In Mattie’s mind, Blanchard’s balloon—“a yellow silk bubble escaping the earth”—symbolizes freedom, particularly an escape from her home, where she feels as if she’s trapped and treated like a child. She, too, longs to “slip free of the ropes that held me,” longing to travel to France and start her own businesses, away from the expectations and demands of her family. As she’s swept up in the yellow fever epidemic, however, Mattie’s perspective on freedom changes—she learns that true independence requires the maturity to help those in need, adapting to circumstances as necessary. At the end of the novel, Mattie is the proprietor of the revitalized Cook Coffeehouse, caring for and supporting her frail mother, a fever survivor. As she watches the sun rise one morning (“a giant balloon filled with prayers and hopes and promise”), she looks forward to fulfilling her dreams as a businesswoman, but remaining tethered to her family by the obligations of love—a new kind of freedom.
Yellow Balloon Quotes in Fever 1793
A few blocks south lay the Walnut Street Prison, where Blanchard had flown that remarkable balloon. From the prison’s courtyard it rose, a yellow silk bubble escaping the earth. I vowed to do that one day, slip free of the ropes that held me. Nathaniel Benson had heard me say it, but he did not laugh. He understood. Perhaps I would see him at the docks, sketching a ship or sea gulls. It had been a long time since we talked.
Early morning was the only time I felt as if there were ghosts nearby, memories of the weeks of fear. That’s when I found myself listening for Polly’s giggle or Grandfather’s voice. Sometimes they felt so close. Close enough to tell me I should stop dawdling and get to work.
I smiled as the mist faded. The yellow sun rose, a giant balloon filled with prayers and hopes and promise. I stood and shook the idleness out of my skirts.
Day was begun.
Yellow Balloon Symbol Timeline in Fever 1793
