Birds

Birds represent freedom in several instances in this book. Auore's grandfather was poor, but he was free, as a bird tamer and seller along the river banks.

When Aurore is pregnant with Maurice in the winter, she is bedridden. The birds bring freedom into her bedroom. They are cold so she warms them and helps them recover. They give her happiness and help her to feel free from her bedrest constraints when they recover and fly around the room before going back outside.

Birds are important because they keep Aurore from committing suicide by the river. The sudden flapping and chirping of a flock of birds snaps Aurore back into reality and she realizes suicide is not the answer. In this way, the birds give her freedom to live.

In the end, a bird escorts Aurore's soul to heaven, leaving her free from emotional and physical...