The most prominent metaphor in The Optimist's Daughter is vision. Welty equates the ability to see with the ability to understand. Both of Laurel's parents suffered from failures of vision. Her mother, Becky McKelva slowly loses her vision as she approaches her death, and her father dies while attempting to recover from surgery for a detached retina. Additional images of vision persist throughout the novel. It not only contains several characters who suffer from blindness or poor vision but also images of vision or the lack of vision. Laurel is constantly noticing curtains, blinds, glasses, and windows. These remind her of her need to understand her present situation and the lack of understanding she has for her stepmother, Fay. Although not physically blind, Fay has poor vision in that she lacks the maturity to understand as is evidenced by her insensitivity towards others.[1]
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