Previous
Literary Devices
Definition of Allegory
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" is... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and... read full definition
Chapter 45
Explanation and Analysis—The Caged Goldfinch:
The pathetic image of a goldfinch that dies of starvation in a cage is the inciting incident that causes Elizabeth-Jane to look for her missing "father" at the end of the novel. In Chapter 45, Hardy uses the story of the goldfinch that has died in captivity as a condensed allegory for Henchard's own downfall and imprisonment in his own inescapable ways:
Mrs. Donald Farfrae had discovered in a screened corner a new bird-cage, shrouded in newspaper, and at the bottom of the cage a little ball of feathers—the dead body of a goldfinch. Nobody could tell her how the bird and cage had come there, though that the poor little songster had been starved to death was evident. The sadness of the incident had made an impression on her. She had not been able to forget it for days [...]
Related Themes:
