Sweetie, the bluebird has flown. We're too young to sit around the rest of our lives waiting for it to fly back in the window. It won't. It can't fly backwards.'He was using his hands again in that disagreeable stagey way, and Ruth was angered by the flicker of conceit in his expression when he struck upon the image of the bluebird fying backwards - a piece of animation on the screen of his face.
In this excerpt from John Updike's "Marry Me: A Romance," the character expresses a sense of urgency about moving forward in life. The metaphor of the bluebird symbolizes fleeting opportunities or happiness that will not return once lost. The speaker suggests that waiting passively for these moments to reappear is futile, emphasizing the importance of seizing the present rather than longing for the past.
Ruth, witnessing this sentiment, feels anger towards the speaker's pretentiousness and theatrical gestures. His animated portrayal of the bluebird represents his dramatic flair, which Ruth finds both irritating and revealing of his self-importance. This moment captures a conflict between the desire for emotional connection and the frustration with the superficiality in how it's expressed.
