DWA

Loyalty

Hugh the fowler only wanted to serve his master- to be able to  provide 100 doves  for a wedding feast of the king and the most beautiful woman in the world- and his loyalty to the king blinded him to the opportunity right in front of him.  He had the opportunity to be with and to love Lady Columbia, a woman who made him tremble at her beauty and grace, and yet he turned it down.  Hugh had such a desire to serve his master and to stay loyal to the king that he let it control him, giving up his love and then killing her.

This short story is obviously tragedy, and for many reasons.  The one thing that really points to tragedy, and stands out and shines above the rest of the signs and symbols that make me believe that the story is tragic, is that the main character is in control.  It is his decision to keep trying to capture the dove, his decision to twist her neck, and his decision to decline her offer of being with her forever.  His choices lead up to all this sadness and despair, not anyone elses.

Some other things that make The Hundredth Dove a tragedy is its plotline.  The conflict in the beginning, when he cannot capture the dove, and it keeps slipping away.   His rise to power, when he finally captures the dove, he finally has all of the hundred he needs for the feast.  His tragic flaw, his overpowering loyalty towards the king, and desire to capture this exquisite bird.  His tragic fall, when he twists the dove's neck and kills it, making all his hard work of capturing the doves useless, as there is no wedding to go to, and ruining his chance at love, killing Lady Columbia.  The death of the dove, of the Queen-to-be, of his hunting ways and his spirit.  These all make the story tragedy.

Symbolism plays a major role in this piece.  All the grays, blacks, the forest shadows, the darkening air.  In the end, the place on his tunic above his heart that is shredded and torn.  This symbolizes the things that he held close to his heart that were destroyed.  The big one, though, is killing the doves.  The dove is a romantic and beautiful symbol.  It symbolizes peace.  Killing these doves is showing that he is not at peace.  He is at war with himself.  His motto, his lifestyle is telling him to kill this dove, serve it to the king.  His heart is telling it to save it. 

Others might argue that this is an Irony, because of the unrealistic animals, such as the unicorn and the gryphon, the hippocampus.  I disagree.  Those mythical creatures are all romantic symbols, and in the story, they are not crossing his path like they usually do.  Also, in an Irony, the main character has no control and is weak and stupid.  Hugh was most definitely in control, and he was not weak, nor was he stupid.

Jane Yolen wrote this story as a tragedy to help us realize that we need to listen to our head and our heart, to make sure both are carefully considered in our decisions.  The fowler did not.  He listened to his head, and it resulted in his desire to serve the king take over and control him, giving up his love and then killing her.