Red Hair Vs Fair Hair (Symbol)
While Dolly’s fair hair is the most desirable hair color during this period, Nell’s fiery locks have often had demonic or soulless connotations. Being an ideal of beauty gives Dolly an ease in making her way through society. Her appearance is the kind that men have made elegies of for centuries, and is a sign of purity and unattainable virtue. Nell’s unruly mane is considered undesirable, and is also often associated to a wild nature. Both these women fit their stereotypes on a superficial level, and this is done to establish their respective roles in society and to further make the sisters fit into the context of the narrative.
Consumption (Allegory)
When Nell is ill with consumption, her body withers away to a frail and bony figure. She has lost all physical signs of health and beauty. This image is all the more striking as the illness itself was thought to be caused by a broken heart. The loss of beloved has taken away everything she had left to give, and suggests that it is her sinful past actions that have brought on this punishment, much like divine retribution.
Stories (Motif)
The many literary texts mentioned throughout the novel are a recurring motif that often foreshadow events, or add layers of meaning to the context of the main narrative. The books, fairytales or religious texts mentioned by Nell tend to emphasize the irony of her misunderstanding of the true morals to be learned from the material she so avidly reads.
The Soldier (Symbol)
When the young Nell sees Dick, she is immediately drawn to his profession. More than the actual man, Nell bases her attraction on her imagined perfect warrior. She sees him as the epitome of masculinity, even though he does not show any other distinctively masculine traits. In fact, he does not show any distinctive characteristics at all. Our idea of Dick is simply that of a soldier, and it stresses the innocence of Nell, as it reveals her one-dimensional view of the ideal man.
The Graveyard (Symbol)
Nell sees Dick for the first time in the graveyard adjacent to the garden of LeStrange Hall. She falls head over heels for him right away, and continues to long for him throughout the narrative, even after marrying another man. This is the grand irony of Nell’s series of poor choices, she has met the man that would be her ultimate downfall in a graveyard. This therefore signifies that the doomed nature of their union was heavily foreshadowed from the very beginning.
