The setting
of Welty's story comes in the early morning of the last month of the year, symbolically
juxtaposing a beginning and an end. The morning is bright and conceals nothing, yet Phoenix
moves in the shadows along the path "through the pinewoods," to create another
contrast. Though the ground is frozen, Phoenix persistently taps her cane against it. One last
contrast is found when Welty's narrator describes the "still air" broken by the
"meditative" tapping of Phoenix's cane.
The setting foreshadows the
difficulties Phoenix will encounter in her journey to get medicine for her grandson. The
threats and condescension she will experience are fresh, like the morning, but old, like the end
of the year, because racism, sexism, and ageism are perennial societal ills.
Phoenix walks in the shadows because society has put her there. An old black woman is
of little value in her time and place. The bright morning symbolizes how openly and freely
discrimination takes place.
Ultimately, Phoenix prevails in her quest to get
the medicine her grandson needs. The tapping of her cane against the frozen ground symbolizes
Phoenix's quiet persistence against the cold, solidified forces of discrimination that seek to
impede her progress.
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