The Maidens

In Greek mythology, swans were a sacred animal of both Aphrodite, goddess of love, and Apollo, god of prophecy. Swans also symbolize beauty and gracefulness in the Western popular imagination and are sometimes depicted as singing laments for the dead. In The Maidens, swans appear at several pivotal moments in the narrative: when Mariana believes she is falling in love, when she is in danger, and when she evades that danger. Swans are part of the romantic scene Mariana constructs of punting down the river when she first fell in love with Sebastian. Significantly, at the end of the novel, Mariana will punt down the river with Zoe to confront the painful truth about her husband and niece. In the middle of the narrative, she and Zoe meet at the river’s edge to discuss the murder case, and Mariana imagines that a swan makes eye contact with her: “[I]t was an impressive creature—ragged but serene, and highly imperious. It turned its long neck, and looked in Mariana’s direction. […] was it staring directly at her?” (130). In the final chapter of Part 6, after Zoe is taken away, Mariana watches a swan “spread its wings” and fly away “into the heavens” (350).