The oak tree beside the pine helped Sylvia get into the lower limbs of the pine, which helped her climb upward. Jewett writes, –First she must mount the white oak that grew alongside, where she was almost lost among the dark branches and the green leaves heavy and wet with dew.” At this avenue could Sylvia be experiencing her own sexuality. This quotation suggests that Sylvia is lost in the branches that are wet with dew. Here Sylviaês sexual experience has begun. In the next quote Jewett writes, – Sylvia felt her way easily. She had often climbed there, and knew that higher still one of the oakês upper branches chafed against the pine tree, just where its lower boughs were set close together. There, when she made the dangerous pass from one tree to the other, the great enterprise would really begin.” In this last passage, the author uses Sylvia's ascent into the pine as the start of her sexual encounter. The pine is used to represent Sylviaês duration of sex and will come to an end when Sylvia spots the white heron.
