Bread
Bread is the result of the process of a multitude of ears of grain being brought together. This process takes nine months from the sowing to the harvesting. In the meantime the grain is trampled beneath the foot of the farmer. All these aspects come together to give birth to the “body” used in communion; thus, bread alone is a symbol of unity.
Wine
It also takes nine months to complete the process of making wine; a process which requires a multitude of grapes working together in unit. Trampled underfoot, the body of the grapes are transformed into the “blood” used in communion: thus wine alone is also a symbol of unity.
Bread and Wine
Bread and wine are both individually symbols of unity among similar thing. Together, they represent the brotherhood of two separate but equal things which unify together in communion as blood and body.
The King of Diamonds
A group spend their time together playing cards, but the king of diamonds has become so noticeably worn that it is immediately identifiable whenever it is dealt. A proposal is made: everyone agrees to regard the obvious king of diamonds as the three of hearts and allow the three of hearts which cannot be identified by its back as the more valuable king card. This proposal sets in a motion a metaphorical discussion about whether a king is always a king and, if not, when is a king no longer a king.
Cristina
As her name implies, Cristina ultimately becomes the character who is most strongly identified with its pervasive Christian iconography. The image of her kneeling in prayer during the night alone on a snow covered mountain as her tragic fate descends upon her implicates her rather forthrightly as a symbol of Christian sacrifice.
