Man vs. Nature Theme Analysis

While the phoenix is a mythical creature that doesn’t exist in nature, the story treats it as a real living bird. In this way, the phoenix stands in for the dignity and power of nature, while Mr. Poldero—the showman who wants to exploit the bird for profit—stands in for mankind. The conflict between Mr. Poldero and the phoenix, then, can be seen as an allegory for the conflict between humanity and nature. And when Mr. Poldero’s attempt to exploit the phoenix backfires, killing him and his audience, nature seems to have the last laugh. In this way, the story suggests that the power of nature must be respected. Attempting to dominate nature is perilous and can have catastrophic results.

The story presents two models of human dominion over nature, and the first is Lord Strawberry, a relatively benevolent explorer who “collected birds.” In general, the story depicts Lord Strawberry as a capable steward of nature, a man who respects his birds and cares for them well. His aviary is spacious and it “suited [his birds] perfectly”; they seem to eat well and have plenty of room to fly around. As the phoenix stands in for nature, Lord Strawberry’s respect for this bird is important. When he first finds the phoenix in Arabia, for instance, he doesn’t simply snatch it—he “w[ins] its confidence” before bringing it home, with the result that the phoenix becomes “much attached” to him. Their relationship is harmonious until Lord Strawberry dies.

But despite his benevolence, Lord Strawberry is still dominating nature. No matter how much his aviary resembles nature, it’s still an artificial environment that imprisons his birds. And Lord Strawberry came into possession of the phoenix by traveling to Arabia, capturing the bird, and bringing it back to his aviary in Britain, a self-centered and disruptive exercise of his power. After his death, the consequences of this behavior—both for him and for his birds—become clear. Controlling nature, it turns out, cost Lord Strawberry his whole fortune, and he died penniless due to the exorbitant costs of his aviary. Furthermore, while he might have been a benevolent steward of his birds, his death leaves them vulnerable to exploitation. Indeed, the unscrupulous Mr. Poldero buys the phoenix, only to torture and kill it for profit. This never would have happened had Lord Strawberry left nature alone and allowed the phoenix to continue its natural life in Arabia.

In contrast to Lord Strawberry—who at least makes gestures towards respecting nature—Mr. Poldero is vicious, treating nature as though it exists for his purposes alone. Mr. Poldero’s initial purchase of the phoenix is telling in its selfishness. With funds raised from schoolchildren and local naturalists, the London zoo makes a bid on the bird, hoping to keep the phoenix as a public treasure. But Poldero outbids the zoo without regard to what might be best for the phoenix or for British society—he only considers how much his show will profit from such a rare bird. And Mr. Poldero has no respect for the phoenix’s dignified nature. Instead, he finds the bird insufferably boring, and apparently the public agrees. When people stop paying to see the bird, Poldero resorts to torturing it, hoping to hasten its death. Since the phoenix dies by bursting into flame and being reborn from the ashes, Poldero sees a business opportunity in monetizing this spectacle. His plan to sell tickets to the phoenix’s premature death is so grotesque that it borders on parody, a horrific allegory of the human drive to exploit nature for profit no matter the cost.

But despite Poldero’s confidence that he can control and monetize nature, nature overpowers him in the end. At the climax of the story, with Poldero, a camera crew, and thousands of spectators watching, the phoenix sets itself ablaze. Rather than being an entertaining spectacle, though, it’s catastrophic—the flames are uncontrollable, and they quickly engulf everything nearby, including “some thousand” spectators and Poldero himself. Poldero’s plan to profit off of the phoenix backfires spectacularly, punishing not only him, but his audience, too. This is an allegory for danger of attempting to dominate nature. While humanity may think we can control the natural world (like Lord Strawberry) or even profit from it (like Poldero), the consequences of this behavior can be devastating.

Furthermore, the implication is that nature doesn’t simply punish mankind for its hubris; nature prevails. After all, the phoenix will rise up again from the ashes, whereas the rubble of Poldero’s show cannot be reborn. In this light, it seems that nature will inevitably triumph over humanity, so perhaps it’s wise to leave nature alone.