Metamorphosis, Cocoons and Shedding Skins
Metamorphosis, cocoons and shedding skins offer images of changing form, passing through a stage, being enclosed and leaving something behind. The terms are often grouped together in figurative language, although they describe different biological structures and events.
Background
Butterflies and moths undergo complete metamorphosis, with egg, larval, pupal and adult stages.[1] A chrysalis is a butterfly's pupa. A cocoon is a silk covering spun around a pupa by many moth caterpillars; it is not simply another name for a butterfly chrysalis. Caterpillars also shed their outer covering as they grow before pupation.[2]
This matters when comparing images. Enclosure, growth, the emergence of a different form and the removal of an outer layer do not describe the same event. An illustration can combine them poetically without being a biological sequence.
Comparing the images
| Image | What changes | Distinction to retain |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | Size or development | Becoming larger is different from becoming a different form. |
| Chrysalis | A pupal stage lies between larva and adult | An outwardly quiet stage can contain biological development. |
| Cocoon | A spun covering surrounds the pupa | The covering and its occupant are different things. |
| Shedding | An outer covering is left behind | Leaving a layer does not mean becoming a different species. |
| Emergence | An organism comes out of an enclosing structure | Exit is an event within a larger process. |
| Mythic transformation | A character takes a new bodily form | The change may be chosen, imposed, protective or harmful in that particular story. |
The comparisons concern the images themselves. A biological sequence does not establish an inevitable sequence for human change.
Examples in literature and culture
Daphne's transformation
In Book I of Ovid's Metamorphoses, Daphne flees Apollo and appeals for help. Bark covers her body, her hair becomes foliage, her arms become branches and her feet become roots. Apollo continues to embrace the transformed tree.[3] This literary example complicates a simple equation of transformation with liberation: the pursuit is interrupted, while Daphne's capacity to move also changes.
The butterfly as a comparison
Moving from caterpillar to butterfly provides a vivid contrast in bodily form and movement. A cocoon image, however, may foreground shelter or enclosure before any emergence is described. In a text or picture, it is useful to notice which stage is actually present rather than supplying an ending that the image does not show.
Idioms and expressions
- Come out of one's shell: become more socially expressive or confident.
- Spread one's wings: explore greater freedom or independence.
- Shed an old identity: leave behind a former role or self-description.
- A new lease of life: renewed energy or opportunity.
- Turn over a new leaf: begin behaving differently.
- Break the mould: depart from an established pattern.
These phrases draw on several different material images. A shell, a skin and a mould should not be treated as interchangeable structures.
Related pages
Beauty and The Beast · Trees · Clothing, Shoes and Armour · Containers · Flight · The Sleeping Beauty · Frankenstein
Sources
- ↑ Smithsonian Institution, “Butterflies”; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, “Butterflies and Beyond”.
- ↑ Smithsonian Institution, “Monarch Butterflies Make the Most of the Smithsonian's Gardens”, especially the explanation of chrysalis and cocoon.
- ↑ Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book I, Apollo and Daphne, translated by Henry T. Riley.
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