Flight Behavior

The monarch butterflies are a symbol for Dellarobia and her life. From the flame-red color of her hair to the forests filled with the bright orange butterflies, it seems that Dellarobia’s discovery of the insects fuses her fate with their own. At the start of the novel, Dellarobia is headed up the path to end her marriage, to ruin her reputation, to do something to shake up 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 eleven 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.

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.