Nostalgia Shop Worker
When Gil and Inez visit Versailles with Paul and Carol, Inez brings up Gil’s work proceeds to gives details about Gil’s current main character that he is working on. This main character starts to hold symbolic value as we learn about his traits. The details about this character that Inez mentions are the exact desires that Gil talks about at the beginning of the film, while he and Inez are standing on a bridge over a pond. The main character of Gil’s book symbolically represents Gil’s own wishes and desires.
Old Peugeot
The car that takes Gil to the dance party where he meets Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald, then, later on, meets Ernest Hemingway, is not a common car. It is a very old model that is more of a collector’s item than a transportation vehicle in the current time. This old Peugeot is symbolic of the time period of the writers to whom it drives Gil towards.
Paris
From the first few scenes of the film, it is quite apparent the all of the movie will be set in Paris. Our protagonist, who we continually see gush over Paris, is constantly talking about how he wants to live here. In the film, Paris symbolizes Gil’s, true love. So much so that Gil decides to live in Paris and leave Inez.
Adriana
The character of Adriana shows up on the screen during Gil’s second meeting with Hemingway. We see Gil amazed by her beauty. Furthermore, we learn that Adriana shares Gil’s thoughts and desires about living in Paris. Here, Adriana symbolizes Gil’s wish that Inez was more like-minded and understanding of his passion for Paris.
Novel
Near the end of the film, when Gertrude Stein is giving Gil feedback on his rewrites, she mentions how the protagonist doesn’t realize his girlfriend is cheating on him with the “pedantic one”. This scene gives the audience the realization that Gil’s whole imaginary meetings with these dead writers and artists were him denying himself the truth. We realize that the novel that Gil wants critique of symbolizes his way of life and his life happenings.
