Alcohol (Motif)
Alcohol consumption is a motif in the play, as characters are constantly drinking or talking about drinking. Most of the time when they are doing this they are trying to exorcise some demon, repress some terrible thought, or mitigate the suffering that a hard life at sea easily brings about. When characters talk about alcohol, then, it is important to consider what is driving them to drink at that moment.
Water (Symbol)
Water is a symbol for cleansing, purification, and rebirth, so naturally the sea feels cleansing to Anna, who claims, “It makes me feel clean—out here–’s if I’d taken a bath” (31).
The Sea (Symbol)
The sea specifically is a symbol, one of danger, unpredictability, fate, mystery, and power, among others. In this play it is intertwined with the fate of all the characters, asking the audience/reader to consider the ways in which people exercise free will versus are acted upon by larger forces.
Fog (Symbol)
Fog is a symbol for obfuscation; you can’t see through it, it covers everything, it adds mystery. Anna finds the fog appealing, not threatening, which is because she wants her sins covered up. And since fog is actually composed of water, it is cleansing to her as well.
Ship (Symbol)
Anna is surprised to find out how happy she is on the barge, commenting to her father that “I love to watch the ships passing” (50). Ships are symbols of freedom because they literally carry their passengers away from ports and figuratively carry them away from their putative obligations, burdens, and pasts. Anna’s enjoyment of the ships makes sense for this character because she has also ardently wished to leave everything behind and start anew.
