The snake
The author figuratively uses the snake to symbolize Alex’s shrewdness of character. Alex is belligerent, vicious and deceptive. While in Yale working for the secretive societies, Alex cunningly murders her competitors to attain her goals. According to Hellie, Alex is a viper that is ever ready to strike if irritated. To fit in the university, Alex hides her true character to fit in, but when she is annoyed, she becomes a snake and bites her enemies.
The butterfly
The butterfly is an emblem of Alex's youthful days. While growing up, Alex was as innocent as a butterfly. Similarly, the reader notes that Alex was a pure and happy girl before meeting the ghost who raped her. After the rape incident, Alex's character took a drastic change. Firstly, she dropped out of school and was later introduced to drug addiction by her boyfriend. After joining the university, Alex joined the secretive societies and committed more evils in her life.
Lethe House
The author uses Lethe House as a symbol of the secretive societies at Yale University. All secretive societies' members meet at the Lethe house, headed by Sandow. The Lethe House operatives are responsible for the mysterious murders in the university and other cunning occurrences that affect innocent learners and the society around the institution.
Tara’s Death
Tara's death is symbolic because it represents the dark forces and the use of magic by the members of secretive societies. When Tara dies, Alex sneaks into the morgue to conduct a ritual on her body to her the power of seeing her killers. The death of Tara also revealed that she was killed by Sandow, who disguised himself as Lance. Sandow uses the women's bodies to make chemicals used by the secretive societies to carry out their activities.
