Catherine, Called Birdy

Birdy’s birds and her deep love of birds, in general, are significant symbols throughout the book. On one hand, birds are symbolic of the freedom to fly far and wide, and their beauty and variety appear unparalleled to Birdy. On the other hand, her very own birds live in gilded cages—just as Birdy herself does—captive and beholden to Birdy for care. Birdy herself is nicknamed so because of her enthusiasm for keeping birds, and she is also repeatedly compared to birds throughout the novel: She compares herself to a goose, stubborn and plain; her mother calls her Little Bird and implores her to stop rattling the bars of her cage; the king’s cousin, Joana, advises Birdy to learn more about her wings, implying there are times to flap them and times to still them. In all of these cases, birds symbolize both freedom and the limitations of freedom. Domesticated birds need cages, this comparison implies, and Birdy’s constant “lady lessons” are nothing other than a literal process of domestication.

Birdy’s bear also represents a similar theme: Both Birdy and the tamed bear cannot survive on their own in this world; they must be taken care of by others. Still, Birdy cannot help but wish for a less confining life—for them both. The bear is also the reason that Birdy finally consents to marriage; purchasing the bear with her wedding coins means that she has implicitly given consent. In an ironic twist, the consent she begrudgingly and fearfully gives to Shaggy Beard falls to his son, Stephen, who gives her a brooch engraved with a bird. Not only is the gift a thoughtful one—perhaps Birdy and Stephen will be a good match—but it is also clearly symbolic: Birdy/Catherine will be just free enough to be herself as she is taken into the household of this young man.