Flight Behavior

Barbara Kingsolver’s 2012 novel Flight Behavior presents a symbolic connection between Dellarobia Turnbow, an unhappy farm wife who secretly dreams of running away from it all, and a surprising migration of monarch butterflies that alight upon her in-laws’ property in Feathertown, Tennessee. As the butterflies struggle to survive and reproduce to continue their species, Dellarobia struggles in her efforts to deal with the consequences of her past decisions and the possibility of her new life. Her delayed coming-of-age opens numerous options for her and her children as the novel explores themes of Nature, Life, and Rebirth, The Complexities of Marriage and Motherhood, and Different Americas.

Content Warning: The novel and this guide contain discussions of child death/miscarriage, alcohol addiction, and suicide.

Plot Summary

The novel begins as Dellarobia strides up the mountain path on her family’s farm to meet up with a man she plans to sleep with. Desperate to do something to sabotage the marriage she is trapped in, Dellarobia sees adultery as a means by which to express her unhappiness. When she was 17 and pregnant, her marriage to Cub Turnbow seemed to cement her future.