Edward's fear of breaking china
Edward who was just a boy of eight had learnt the repercussions of breaking china especially in someone else’s house. He had lived his life as an orphan for as much as he could remember. He was taken care of but was constantly discouraged in performing the activities little children would do, which resulted in him becoming a recluse and scared of doing anything that might anger the owners of the house or cause them a loss which they used as a justification to throw him out. Thus, he learnt to be a mature child responsible for himself.
Leonora's tantrums
Leonora’s tantrums are symbolic of her constant need for attention, and her spoiled upbringing. She is an only child who was raised by a mother who constantly travelled. She is used to new things, and hence is not impressed easily. She is repulsed by the Iyot House and its inhabitants. She is used to being centre of her mother’s attention and a lot of servants which explains her attitude towards Mrs. Mullen.
Leonora’s insecurity
Leonora lives with her mother who constantly travels and marries at whim. Leonora has always seen the world moving around her, even the people who she should be close to, like her step-father, are not constant. She has a need to feel important and permanent by her mother. Her insecurities stem from this fact. She is afraid that she might be deserted by her mother as she deserts places and husbands, and hence gets very angry and offended when people try to shift focus from her.
Rustling of paper
Rustling of paper that is used to encase dolls is often used as a precursor to something sinister. Edward can hear rustling of paper even when it is buried beneath layers of earth or when someone else can’t hear it. He hears the sound first as a child, and then as an adult, when he has even forgotten all about the incidents of his childhood, yet he can hear the paper rustling. This symbolizes his sense where he could feel premonitions for future.
Dolls
Both of the dolls, the porcelain one Leonora smashes in her childhood and the Royal Indian Bride Edward gets for her, symbolize the future of their respective daughters. While Leonora’s daughter develops Progeria and becomes just like the doll she smashed and which aged while buried in earth, Edward’s daughter contracts a disease and loses her beautiful features and becomes dreadful to look at, just like the doll which looked beautiful earlier but which developed pockmarks and shed hair to reveal a bald head.
