The symbolic stepmother
The stepmother character is archetypal, and we can find evil stepmothers in women's stories basically since the dawn of man. Basically, an evil stepmother represents the opposite of maternity. Whereas moms provide life, nourishment, support, friendship, and stability, Hester represents the opposite. She steals from Anna, robs her of her inheritance, and she leaves Anna homeless and desperate.
The symbol of prostitution
Prostitution represents something in the novel, but it's difficult to specify precisely what the symbol means. Literally, it represents the perversion of romance, because it takes love and friendship away from sexuality. It represents misogyny, because men walk away shameless and unaffected, whereas Anna is constantly traumatized by abuse, and in the end, she ends up pregnant with someone's child who doesn't even live in the same country who never even loved her. Therefore, prostitution might symbolize the way Anna is abused and ashamed by blatant, unbridled misogyny.
Anna's allegory
Anna's story can be viewed allegorically, where her relocation to England, her stolen inheritance, her ensuing poverty, can all be viewed as symbols. Perhaps the true dilemma of the novel is really the loneliness that comes from the death of her father, but in any case, England represents Anna's involuntary pilgrimage through a terrible adventure. Instead of going to slay bad guys, Anna's story is one of deep unfairness and suffering. Her poverty represents her inability to defend herself from those who could misuse her.
The motif of assumption
There is a lot of assumption going on in the novel. Instead of saying, "some poor women are prostitutes," the English community just assumes the worst about Anna in every case. Ethel assumes she will work as a prostitute. Laurie assumes that Anna will join her in a foursome. Walter takes her on a date to a shady brothel. The only person who defends Anna in the entire novel is Uncle Bo, who points out that Hester is evil for stealing Anna's only inheritance.
The symbolic weather
One way the novel depicts Anna's life is through the setting of the novel. Instead of being in the hot, colorful tropics where she was born and raised, Anna is condemned to a bleak life in the overcast, dreary south of England. This might also symbolize the way the death of her father left Anna in a dark, gloomy existence.
