Paris (“The Rightness of Things”)
In the story “The Rightness of Things,” Rachel has separated from her husband and is now looking for a new beau, which she might have found in Harry. In her memory, Rachel goes over the whirlwind-like tour of romance she and her ex-husband once went on in Paris. When Harry tells her of a position open in Paris and asks if she would be interested, she says yes, “as if by going back she could reclaim something” (26). Paris thus becomes a symbol of passionate, romantic love for Rachel, a physical embodiment of the emotions she wishes she could feel again.
Cakes and Cupcakes (“After Zane”)
“After Zane” is the story of Beth, a pregnant woman who has been dumped by her husband, Zane, a few months into the pregnancy. Beth copes with her sadness by baking, which represents her attempt at controlling something in her life. Despite making delicious cakes and cupcakes, she never eats any of them, instead giving them away to friends and neighbors. At the end of the story, though, after she decides to assert herself by declaring that she will let Zane know if she will take him back, she takes a bite of one of her cupcakes, finally embracing the fruit of her empowered strength and control.
Joelle (“Joelle’s Mother”)
In “Joelle’s Mother,” the three Mexican girls who form the protagonists have a half-sister named Joelle, an Italian girl who is used to living in high society. She is attractive and dignified, and the girls idolize her; she is a symbol for the life of the rich and beautiful. By the end of the story, however, the girls realize that Joelle is haughty and rude, and she is far less happy than they are, destroying the image of this symbol.
Jennifer’s Bracelets (“Escapes”)
In the short story “Escapes,” Caryn is caring for her niece, Jennifer, a tall, stunning fourteen-year-old with a problem with theft and a penchant for cutting her own wrists. These two character traits overlap in the symbol of her bracelets, which she steals and wears to cover up her scars. These bracelets seem to multiply in number, filling Caryn’s room, implying that Jennifer is stealing more, as well as that she is becoming an inextricable part of Caryn’s life. To Jennifer, though, these bracelets symbolize freedom - she gets exhilaration from stealing and cutting herself, filling a void that Caryn helps fill in by the end of the story.
The Spleen (“Lost Parts”)
Helen is the only survivor of her car crash that killed her boyfriend, Scott. She didn’t escape unscathed, however; the doctors had to remove her spleen. At the artists’ conference she attends in the story with her friend Joanne, she sees a presentation that says that the spleen is “the seat of mirth, merriment, caprice.” Later, talking with the presenter, she learns that the spleen is also associated with melancholy. The spleen subsequently becomes a symbol for Helen’s emotions, which she seems to have lost after the crash along with the loss of her spleen.
