The Dishwasher
Despite being remarkably short, “More Than Money” manages to pack a lot references to consumer products into its sad tale of a woman addicted to shopping. A bottle of brandy takes on special significance, for sure, but ultimately no more so than frozen lobster, cowboy hats, an oversized washing machine and cab fare. The dishwasher becomes the supreme symbol of the sickness of Maria’s addiction because it is something the house the family can no longer afford doesn’t have and something the apartment they are moving into likely will have. Maria would rather be in the position of not having a dishwasher and having to spend money on one than having a dishwasher and saving the money. It’s a sickness.
The Can of Soup
“One Can of Soup at a Time” is a story about a man and woman not yet married, but clearly heading in that direction having a fight over, you guessed it, a can of soup. The soup is important to the characters in the story as a symbol of things like patriarchal domination, gender roles, and marital economics. For the reader, however, it is symbolic of all those tiny little things that couples fight over that somehow wind up being important enough to end relationships over.
Halloween
“You Cannot Judge a Pumpkin’s Happiness by the Smile Upon On His Face” is one of the collections “Anna & Harry” stories. These stories are about a happily married couple and their kids. This particular story finds Harry desperately wanting to make Halloween a memorable adventure in childhood only to find himself frustrated at every turn. Halloween becomes a symbol of lost innocence and changing mores in society.
Puzzles
The story “Puzzle” is another story about time passing and things changes. The protagonist is much older than Harry, however, and the symbolism is much darker. The final imagery explicitly situates the symbolism: a complete puzzle in which the picture is finally complete is analogous to death. Life is merely an exercise in fitting the pieces together.
“The Pruning of the Apple Trees”
It is easy to tell that the title of this story is supposed to be entirely symbolic since the apple trees themselves are barely mentioned and the pruning is of not narrative consequence. It is a story comprised of two older women discussing the state of affairs in which the estranged husband of one of them has announces he want to move back in. That there only two apple trees left in the garden—aging and neglected—fills in any ambiguity. The trees symbolize the husband and the wife and the pruning represents the status of reconciliation.
