The Symbol of the Pyramid
The narrator has used a solid pyramid monument to refer to fat women. Harry proudly talks of slenderness in his family ancestry, which he considers as a sign of beauty. According to him, no woman in his ancestry is fat. He refers to his mother and sister Amy who are slim and beautiful. However, the narrator is reminding him that he has two other sisters Eliza and Keziah who are not slim. The narrator says:
“But how did their father account for great-aunt Eliza, who quite squeezed herself through doors, and who, when seated, was one solid pyramid monument from floor to neck?”
The symbol of Photographs and Portraits
Photographs and portraits are used by the author as symbols of creating a false image of something or situation. The girls (Miranda and Maria) have been made to believe that what they are told by their adults is true and real but through their critical analysis, they discover that they have been taken for a ride. In reality, people will say sweet things about some situations just to create the desired mindset. These girls get disappointed when trying to fit in what they see in photographs and portraits to living beings. The narrator writes:
“Photographs, portraits by inept painters who meant earnestly to flatter, and the festival garments folded away in dried herbs and camphor were disappointing when the little girls tried to fit them to the living beings created in their minds by the breathing words of their elders.”
The Symbol of Maria and Miranda
The narrator uses Miranda and Maria the little girls to refer to intelligent and critical people. The young girls have been given capabilities to think and critique situations to come up with own conclusions. It is not practical for 12 years and 8-year-old girls to think like grownups aged above forty. For instance, the girls say that their memories are sharp and they even can have memories before they were born. When assessing their father Harry, they can uncover an irony in what he tells them. For instance, when their father tells them that all his sisters in the family lineage are slim and beautiful, they are quick to critique that assertion by introducing their two fatty great-aunties namely Keziah and Eliza. When examining clothes and other decorative items in their grandmother’s house, they do not see any reasonable evidence to prove their father’s theory of beauty.
The Symbol of Golden-Haired Angels
The narrator uses the Golden-Haired Angels as a measure of beauty. The young girl (Miranda) is inquiring from Uncle Bill to ascertain that indeed Aunt Amy was a beautiful woman. The young girl has her doubts because she does not believe everything people say. To show the girl that Aunt Amy was gorgeous, the Uncle confirms that Amy was more beautiful than the golden-haired angels were. He says:
"There were golden-haired angels with long blue pleated skirts dancing around the throne of the blessed virgin. None of them resembled Aunt Amy in the list or the type of beauty they had been brought up to admire."
The symbol of a glass of wine
When Amy steps into the carriage, she refuses to come out. Coral and others tried to ask her to get out but she refused. She started saying goody and surprising asks for the cup of wine. After that, no one has seen her again. The cup of wine is symbolic of the end of earthly life. Coral can remember those last words from Amy as she narrates to Miranda who is optimistic to know what happened to Amy.
