Geese

The novel’s titular animal represents the innocence, naivety, and beauty of art. Agnès, as an adult, raises geese on a Pennsylvania farm with her husband, Earl. Late in the novel, she imagines Fabienne calling her “a silly goose” (348) for attempting to tell the story of their friendship. Agnès, however, notes that her geese “know that the world will never be allowed even a glimpse of [their] dreams, and they alone know the world has no right to judge them. I live like my geese” (348). Here, Agnès acknowledges the inaccessibility of subjective experience. Humans, like geese, cannot afford others “even a glimpse” (348) of their internal lives. Despite this reality, Agnès chooses to write. In this way, the geese serve as a stand-in for artists, who—despite the insufficiency of communication—attempt to articulate and share their dreams and inner lives.

Oranges

In...