Tissues
The mountain of tissues in Maeve’s lap symbolizes sadness. Maeve says, "So I cried. The mountain of tissues in my lap grew tall and teetering." When Maeve’s mother drives her to the station to buy her traveling ticket, she looks at the mountain tissue in her lap and cries a lot. Consequently, the magnitude of the tissues represents the narrator’s hopelessness, sadness, and pessimism.
Horse
The horse represents the narrator’s routine. When the narrator refuses to board a train because she thinks people will throw themselves on the rail track to be run over, Nancy tells her to board the train again. The narrator says, “Nancy had told me that I should take the train again so that I would realize that people don’t always throw themselves in front of trains all that often. This is your horse; get back on it.”The horse represents the narrator’s routine that should give her confidence to face the world with courage.
Vancouver
Vancouver symbolizes the narrator’s breakthrough. Initially, Maeve is saddened by her mother’s decision to send her to her father in Vancouver. However, when Maeve arrives in Vancouver, she meets Salix, a lover who helps her overcome anxiety and panic disorders. Consequently, Vancouver is an important symbol that shows Maeve’s victory over his worries.
