iron shadows/paper wings
I put this here because basically for those who want proper clarification on the symbols I used in the abovementioned story.
(By the way, the title was supposed to have a slash, but FF doesn't allow the placing of slashes in titles.)
So...let's get started. All usage of symbols and elements in iron shadows/paper wings is explained on this page. Enjoy your read.
1) Metal. Daedalus being a blacksmith was an adaptation on his character in Greek Mythology (where he was both an inventor and a blacksmith), but it is also a symbol of his trapped-ness. Blacksmiths are associated with creations like locks and cages, which very directly symbolise the lack of freedom.
All the references to iron, especially in scenes in which Daedalus is alone, are meant to reinforce the sense that he is eternally tethered. Sometimes they aren’t even related to his job—the chains in which he is bound by the policemen, the iron prison that he calls his home, the guillotine blade. But they’re all there to bring the trapped feeling back.
I often parallel metal to shadows, then mention him (and Icarus) being trapped by shadows. Similar ideas—the shadows are another form of restriction. He somehow feels that he has always lived in the shadow of his own grounded-ness as a being, and his conservativeness.
2) Flight, the sky, wind and wings. Flight is often seen as the ultimate form of freedom, because it is something that traps every human being. And I find that sky, wind and wings are the most physical symbols of flight, hence the paper wings (and paper serves as another symbol—think of how easily paper is blown away by the wind).
Similarly, Aria being a voyager/adventurer and hence her freedom to fly brings out the contrast between her and her husband—how she has been free all her life, and is perhaps Daedalus' only passage to freedom.
Like the metal-shadows parallel, I sometimes parallel wind with light. Light is another form of freedom, this time from shadows. Most of the mentions of light are in parts with Aria, you might notice, and later with Icarus.
You will find that during many of Icarus’ and Daedalus’ scenes, there are many mentions of these brighter symbols. And oftentimes, Daedalus refuses these symbols while Icarus accepts them. Icarus pulls the curtains open while Daedalus shuts them. Icarus makes the paper wings; Daedalus hides them away in his drawer.
And of course, there are the parts where both freedom and restriction coexist in similar measure. These are usually the most important scenes in the story. Specifically:
- Icarus sitting at the window, the grill shadows on his face
- Icarus’ paper wings lying in Daedalus’ metal workshop
- Daedalus looking on through the windows in the empty room, as the paper wings drift in the shadows, and his “steel shackle” image at the end of the chapter.
- Daedalus finding the wings in his pocket, when he is in prison.
It happens at a lot of other places too, but these are the most prominent ones. Normally these image-full scenes symbolically portray either a longing for freedom, or a refusal of freedom despite the possibility or closeness.
3) Fire. It is a symbol of dreaming of freedom—a light that can exist despite the permanence of the shadows around one. You might not be able to achieve something due to certain restrictions in your life—but that doesn’t disallow you from dreaming of it.
This symbol is especially prominent in the part where he receives the roses and imagines them to shine like fire—but also, to a smaller extent, it can refer to Aria flying away on wings of fire.
(Another part I have to clarify—she doesn’t really fly on a firebird, or so to speak. It’s completely up to your interpretation, and all I can say is that the “fire wings” are meant to symbolise the (impossible) dreams that his wife brings to him.)
4) Songs. All the singing—it’s up to you to decide whether the singing is literal or figurative, though I believe you took it literally. It’s a symbol of hope here—oftentimes through history, music was used to deliver hope to people in trouble, people at war, etc. In this case, it’s used to keep the two hoping for Aria’s return.
Speaking of Aria—her name was to that effect too. To hint to the reader that, despite her seemingly uncaring personality, she carries more hope than is apparent.
5) Flowers. A (very common) symbol of love. For most of the story, Aria’s refusal to give Daedalus flowers was meant to make it seem like a one-sided love affair. But then she did, in the end—symbolic of the eventual reciprocation of his feelings.
6) The references to the crucifixion and the Christian Heaven. You probably get them—what might seem like the path to death, but is actually the road to eternal life.
7) Fax machine. Pretty primitive a device, one that you probably use only once in a blue moon. It’s a pointer towards the alternativeness of the entire story, sort of a reminder that this doesn’t actually happen in the present-day world.
(Don’t ask me how Icarus got hold of one.)
8) Circles and squares. Well, not necessary regular quadrilaterals—just right-angled quadrilaterals that create that sense of angularity and rigidity. He mentions earlier in the story that “time runs in circles”, in a heavy, tired sort of tone. But later, he finds himself in a situation where the circles no longer exist in his life—and thus he looks to that old life with new longing. The negative pi has a cancelling effect—pi plus negative pi equals zero, that sort of thing. Hence the circles can’t be formed.
9) Rain. Happens twice—when Icarus reads the note, and when Daedalus is being dragged to prison. It’s the usual symbol for sadness or mourning, and it’s clear why I put it there, isn’t it? Direct hinting at the mood.
10) pi to 14 significant figures. Note that 14 is 7 x 2, which is Heaven’s number times the number of fully emotionally-involved main characters. I did that on purpose, really.
11) Double slashes (//) before each chapter name. This is the standard notation in Actionscript for a comment, i.e. the text in that line is not to be included in the code; they are usually comments/instructions to make it easier for later editors of the code to edit it.
It kind of signifies the fact that those parts are not a part of the main story flow; they are, in a way, guidelines and comments that might help the reader understand the story a bit more.
12) Chapter names. They are in slow increment, if you didn't notice--as Daedalus slowly nears final realisation and understanding, the numbers grow larger and larger. Smaller steps are marked by a .5. There is a sudden drop at the point where everything seems lost--the negative pi. At that point, everything seems to go out of control--an oddity in an otherwise patterned sequence, the first venture into the negative.
Then from there things seem to regain a more repetitive, structured form, hence the return to normal sequence. The blanks represent a similar blankness in the sequence of the story--a turning point, a change in truths. Then the infinity marks the final rise into completeness and closure--and yet a lack thereof.
13) Greek Mythology references. The fact that Icarus is a figure from Greek Mythology was very, very useful—I could pull out a lot of things from there, like Daedalus’ job, Nemesis the punisher, the Fates, Kronos.
Plus I could parallel Icarus’ story to the one in the myth: he flies a lot higher than his father, so much more adventurous than his nagging, meticulous father—and that is ultimately what kills him. But at least he got his taste of freedom and light, even if it was only for those few moments.
Detailed explanation of each reference (heavy stuff coming):
Daedalus and Icarus
These are so well known that you probably don't need it. But I will anyway.
Daedalus was an inventor. By his indirect help (details aren't so nice), the queen fathered the Minotaur. Enraged, the king put Daedalus and his son Icarus in prison. To escape, Daedalus constructed a pair of wings for them to fly on. Before they left, though, he warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, lest the wax holding the wings together melted. Which is what he did. The wings scattered, allowing Icarus to fall to his death.
Basically, what I did here was to paraphrase it. Icarus may have died, but he came closer to the sky than his father ever will, even if death was the price. Which is the reason, to me, that Daedalus' longings go unfulfilled. Because he is a builder and not a dreamer, his mind is works methodically and not radically. He remains grounded, because his profession deals with things that are real and practical in this world. He might have the mental capacity to create, but with it he will only go as far as his logic will allow him.
His son, on the other hand, chose to disregard regulations, just to taste the hints of a dream he knew he would never reach, but loved so much, all the same. That's the main idea coming out in my story--the contrast between Daedalus' refusal and Icarus' embracing of the impossible. It's the reason Icarus got there before Daedalus, anyway.
It is very, very useful that Icarus is an NPC in MapleStory. But then again, part of the inspiration came from his strange location in the first place...
Nemesis
Just take note of the fact that I called the sky his "Nemesis" and not his "enemy". Nemesis was the goddess of revenge, which pretty much sums up what she did. She would never let go of her quarry.
I used this to show that this is what the sky has become, to Daedalus. It took his love away, as if in vengeance, and no matter how he runs from it, he still sees it all the time.And to give his own son up to it, as stated in the last chapter, would be the last thing he would do--but it has become his only option by then. It's all for the themes and ideas behind the story.
The Fates (Moirae)
They're a common mention in literature anyway. The three beings who decide when and where lives start and end. It's to reinforce the point that Daedalus' life as a prisoner, trapped forever, has already been written out for him. That's the point of this line: The Fates wrote it upon their palms. His life without freedom is something that even the Fates made especially sure to remember, apparently.
Kronos
Greek Mythology's personification of time. The whole "spider web" image was about merciless Time's struggle to grapple with the fragility and strength of the human spirit, a strength that somehow manages to best even the formidable current of time. You know how spiderwebs, for their size, are stronger than steel? Another reference back to the steel and light symbolism that I mentioned earlier. Spiderwebs are made by a living creature, and yet it is more powerful than the cold hard element that is steel. And they sparkle in morning light.
14) Formatting.
-Bolded: emphasis and weight.
-Centralised, italicised, decapitalised: distant and imaginary—merely thoughts and side notes.
-Italicised (for full paragraphs): distant, but not imaginary—like echoes.
15) Poetry style. I wrote this piece the way I would write poetry—which is probably why it felt pretty effortless and smooth. I find that the restrictions of poetry actually somehow make me feel freer in my writing. I felt more comfortable using metaphors that you wouldn’t normally see in prose. Hence the very /different/ feel of this piece, as compared to my others.
