56 pages • 1 hour read
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
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Symbols & Motifs
The Sweep’s Coat
The Sweep’s coat, which becomes increasingly tattered as he uses the threads from his own coat to fix holes in Nan’s, is a physical manifestation of the nature of his love. The Sweep tells Nan that his magical needle “draws the thread from the air” to patch Nan’s coat (232). Bemused, Nan asks why he doesn’t mend his own coat with the magical thread, but he insists, “I prefer to feel a breeze when I work” (233). However, while the young Nan notices him shivering, it is only when she grows up that she has the wisdom to realize that “with every stitch he gave her, he lost one of his own” (234). Having no money for thread, the Sweep allows his own coat to fall apart as he picks out threads to mend Nan’s. The Sweep willingly suffers through the cold and increases his own discomfort in order to safeguard Nan’s health and make her more comfortable, illustrating the selfless nature of his love for her. In this way, the coat itself serves as a visual representation of the Sweep’s intangible yet iron-hard convictions that protecting his adopted daughter is the utmost priority. With each selfless gift he donates to her care, he himself becomes diminished, but as his own life wanes due to long illness, he counts every sacrifice worth the effort.
Story Soup
The Sweep fosters Nan’s imagination to help her escape the reality of their life of poverty and destitution. The “story soup” game is a symbol of the power of imagination, as well as of the Sweep’s love, for he wants to shelter her from the stark reality of their hunger, cold, and discomfort through his own fantastical imagination. Instead of focusing on her hunger, Nan focuses on the Sweep’s fantastical and immersive story in their game of “story soup,” such as one day when the Sweep is inspired by Nan’s half oyster shell to tell the story of “a haberdasher who made caps for fairies” (59). Many artifacts from the street are incorporated into the Sweep’s stories, which transport Nan far from the realities of life on the London streets. The success of the distraction is evident, for the narrative states, “Even though they had eaten nothing, the girl still ended her day with a belly full of story—which sticks to the ribs even better than mutton” (59). In this metaphor, love and imagination are characterized as providing sustenance which is just as important as food. The story soup game connects to the recurring theme of Imagination and Magic, which is often explored through the enigmatic character of the Sweep.
Charlie’s Stone Form
Charlie’s function as a protector is symbolically represented in his frozen form even after his animating force dies away. As his stone remains kneel over the Sweep’s grave, his arms are forever frozen in the cradle shape they formed when they held Nan’s broken body and gave her new life. His final position commemorates the fact that he gave his life for Nan. Adding further symbolism to Charlie’s frozen form, Dent, the robin whom Charlie accidentally crushed in its shell and then revived, builds a nest in the stone statue’s arms. Charlie earlier gave a part of his life to save Dent (Charlie’s sacrifice is illustrated in the part of his hand which became hard and cold). Later, Charlie continues to help Dent even when he is a lifeless stone structure by providing a safe place for the robin’s nest, which Nan reflects is typical of Charlie’s loving and selfless nature. She reflects, “Very soon there would be a little peeping family, all safely held in Charlie’s strong arms” (340).
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By Jonathan Auxier
