Peaches
Peaches are a major element in "Peaches" (as one might presume from the title). They are the important items being transported in the pram in the narrator's important memory, and they take on a greater significance as the story progresses. The man who plants the peach trees and takes care of them is a central character; it is possible that there is an implication that the narrator's wife was unfaithful to her husband through her interactions with this man. Peaches therefore take on a symbolism regarding infidelity.
In Eastern literary tradition, peaches symbolize fidelity and purity. In the summer of the narrator's youth, when these events take place, the strong aroma of rotting peaches fills the house, representing the erosion of his mother's fidelity. It is mentioned that, if his father would come home, he would be able to smell it before he even entered the house. Later, the narrator remembers a scene in which his father argues with his mother over some offense and, despite her begging, sends her out into the night to fix the wrong. This offense could be her infidelity, and if the narrator's memory immediately follows it, the symbolism could be this: the night journey to keep the peaches safe in the pram could represent his mother's penance for allowing her peach to rot.
The Image of the Narrator Pushing Himself
At the end of the story, the narrator sees an image of himself as a boy pushing himself as an infant in a pram. This recursive image represents the self-dependent quality of memory; one's subconscious necessarily exerts an incredible influence on memory, so it is impossible to objectively remember an event. Memory is inherently subjective, so the narrator argues that it is impossible to bring vague memories together to synthesize objective truth; it merely reveals one's own character.
Foxes
In his memory of walking down the forest road, the narrator remembers his mother telling him stories about the foxes that hide in the shadows and cast spells on passersby. These foxes, hiding in the darkness of the periphery, symbolize the narrator's fears of the unknown and of isolation.
The Fusion of Memories
Throughout the story, the narrator wonders whether his memory is verifiably true or simply an amalgamation of elements from various stories and experiences from his childhood "put through a sentimental tinting job until it comes out 'like a little story'" (5). This imagery of subconsciously fusing memories together until a fabricated little story comes out intact in one's memory reflects the story's theme of the deception and ambiguity of memory.
The Pram
The pram (short for "perambulator," a device used to transport babies) comes to represent something larger than its physical appearance. Until recently before the narrator's memory, the pram had been used to transport himself as an infant. Now it sits mostly unused in the shed, but for some reason, his mother is now using it to safely transport peaches. This supports the idea, expounded upon in the section on peaches, that this journey is an effort to preserve his mother's marital and familial fidelity: she holds peaches, a symbol for fidelity and purity, in the seat where she used to keep her child, the ultimate symbol for a family.
Surreal Environments
Abe often uses surreal settings as a motif to allude to his characters' inner moods. These settings frequently challenge reason and induce confusion, reflecting the difficulties faced by the protagonists.
