41 pages • 1-hour read
The River Has Roots
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
Wordplay
Wordplay is the first and most prevalent motif in the novella, abounding throughout in the prose, dialogue, and songs: It is the foundation of the theme of The Power of Language and one of the primary focal points of the narrative as a whole. The wordplay begins in the very first sentences, which describe grammar as both the rules that govern human language and a kind of magic. This hinges on the etymology of the word “grammar,” which comes from the Latin and Old French “grammaire,” meaning both the rules or art of language and the magic of incantations and spells. Similarly, the novella uses the word “conjugation,” the transformation of a verb by person and number, to reference the literal and concrete transformation of objects as well.
Such double meanings appear everywhere. For instance, the standing stones that mark the boundary between the Modal Lands and Arcadia are called the Refrain, which is both a “regularly recurring phrase or verse especially at the end of each stanza or division of a poem or song” and a verb that means “to keep oneself from doing, feeling, or indulging in something” (“Refrain.” Merriam-Webster). The name thus refers both to Esther’s singing (and, more broadly, the tradition of song that the novella draws on) and to the standing stones’ function of keeping humans from entering Arcadia. The name “Modal Lands” likewise contains several meanings, as the word “modal” can refer to both music and grammatical form, among other possible meanings.
Wordplay is also important within the songs that drive both the plot and themes. Much of Esther and Rin’s flirtation consists of riddle songs and wordplay. Likewise, the secret song that Esther and Ysabel share allows them to prove Pollard’s guilt. In all these ways and more, wordplay contributes significantly to the theme of language and especially to the idea that the most powerful form of language is language that is ambiguous.
Willows
The willows also form the divide between the wild magic of Arcadia and the River Liss and the more controlled “grammar” that humans use. Importantly, this is a permeable and indistinct boundary, which allows humans to access some of the magic of grammar without suffering from the negative effects that can occur deeper in the Modal Lands and beyond. As stated in the first chapter, the grammar runs wild in the river, changing everything in its path, including itself. However, the willow roots make this magic accessible to humans, “sift[ing] gram after gram of bucking wildness from the water” and translating/transforming it into something more contained and controlled (2). In this way, the willows symbolize the meeting point of the two different kinds of language the novella outlines: the literal and prescriptive kind, associated with the human impulse toward control, and the symbolic and ambiguous kind, which is more powerful but also more dangerous precisely because its meaning is constantly shifting. The willow trees that grow along the River Liss, which the Hawthorn family cares for and harvests, are multifaceted symbols. In part, they represent the divide between wildness and “civilization.” Though the willow trees grow naturally in the region, the Hawthorn family and other humans have, for generations, grown and cultivated the willows through coppicing (the act of cutting a plant back to encourage growth and control the shape/rate of that growth) and singing to the trees. In this sense, the willows symbolize the human need to control one’s environment, but it is notable that that control is not absolute. The narrator describes the Hawthorns’ relationship to the land as one of “stewardship,” implying that they care for the trees while respecting that they do not own them. Much as the Hawthorns themselves live on the borders of Arcadia and Thistleford, their approach to the land thus exists midway between living in a fully wild environment and subordinating that environment to human use.
The Signet Ring
Having accepted Esther’s proposal to marry and live in the human world, Rin fashions signet rings from Esther’s hair and the River Liss. These rings are both a concrete symbol of their union and a symbol of the deeper, magical connection between them. Specifically, as Rin explains in Chapter 9, the silver ring represents the part of Esther that now belongs to Arcadia, as well as the choice that she must make either to die in the human world or live forever with Rin in the land of Faerie. Just as Esther’s promise to Ysabel ties her to humanity, her promise to Rin ties her to Arcadia.
Additionally, the signet ring contributes to the novella’s wordplay and thus to the theme of The Power of Language. As Agnes Crow explains upon finding Esther turned into a swan, the word “signet,” which refers to the seal on the ring, is a homonym for “cygnet,” a young swan. At the moment of Esther’s death, the River Liss turns her into a swan as a kind of pun; it then reverses course to take Esther into Arcadia because the ring signifies that she belongs there. The ring therefore ties the theme of language to that of love, allowing Esther to cross the boundaries not only between human and Arcadian lands but also between life and death.
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