Baseball
Mythic baseball stories link and separate Celia and her daughter Lourdes. Celia’s devotion to Castro and communism is symbolized by her recollection of the story about Castro almost becoming a major league pitcher; it is a story that has been thoroughly debunked. Meanwhile, Lourdes recollects the energizing city-wide excitement of the 1969 Amazing Miracle Mets which has all the characteristics of being a legend, but is entirely true. The implication is that this symbolism applies equally well to their respective political ideologies.
The Ocean
The opening scene situates the symbolic significance of the ocean with its portrait of an aged Celia sitting in her swing, binoculars at the ready, on constant watch for another possible invasion attempt by Americans still intent on overthrowing Castro. Over the course of the novel, the ocean is a complex symbol representing the threat of the unknown, the distance between Celia and her self-exiled family members, and grieving the loss of Gustavo following his return to Spain.
Seashells
Seashells are a symbol primarily associated with tragically unlucky Felicia. They are expressly situated as a symbol of bad luck because they are considered ill omens foretelling bad things. This symbolic expression seems to align with literal truth as Felicia’s life story is one bad tiding after another.
Celia’s Letters
A chunk of the novel is handed over to letters written her love Gustavo after he has abandoned her to go back to Spain to his family. Although the content is important, the real symbolic significance is that these are letters dutifully written, but never sent. The writing itself—the mere act of composition is the point—and the point of that act is the compulsive nature. The content of one of the letters does take on great significance on this point as Celia rhetorically ponders the nature of obsession. To her own obsessions she gives the label “my life of ordinary seductions” and these unsent letters fulfill that purpose: something that must be done without questioning the motivation.
Pearl Earrings
The very first sentence of the novel describes Celia as wearing her best housedress and pearl earrings. In fact, she is always wearing the earrings having actually physically removed them from her lobes less than dozen times over the course of decades. However, the very last image of the novel is of Celia removing the earrings under substantially dramatic conditions. They were a gift from Gustavo and symbolize not just the significance of his presence in her life even in his absence, but are also invested with the meaning that his presence gave her during that absence.
