Angel Wings as a Symbol
Angel wings are a symbol of the angel's role as divine messengers. The angels themselves are messengers of God, or are bringing a message of their own to the person to whom they appear, and their wings are symbolic of the journey they undertake in order to bring the message to the living. In the novel, the stone angel who appears to Richard is Mary's daughter, Andrea, who is trying to tell him about her mother and the existence of the gravestone in the cemetery.
Open Outer Doors as a Symbol
Mary tells Richard and Keri that in Victorian homes, there were two sets of front doors, inner and outer. When the outer doors were open, the home owners were happy to receive callers. Closed outer doors symbolized privacy and that the home owners were not receiving callers. The doors therefore acted as a symbol of whether or not the home owners were happy to have people drop by or whether they wanted to be left alone.
The Stone Angel as a Motif
The stone angel appears throughout the book and has a number of different purposes. She at first appears to Richard in a dream, but is also present to him after he has woken up. The stone angel then appears in the novel on Andrea's headstone in the cemetery, when Richard realizes it is Andrea who has been trying to reach him and give him a message through her visits. She also appears in the novel each time Richard is trying to understand what Mary has been trying to tell him about parenting Jenna.
Stone Angel as a Symbol
The stone angel is a symbol of Mary's impending death; she has started to appear in the house where Mary lives, and to Richard, bearing a message, symbolizing the fact that Mary's death is near, but that it is not her time just yet. It is not until the angel actually appears to Mary but is not seen by Richard who is visiting with her that she is symbolizing that Mary is about to die as she has come to meet her and accompany her on her journey to Heaven. She is a symbol of Mary's daughter whilst death is near, but when she appears to Mary has actually shown herself to be Andrea.
Christmas Boxes as a Symbol
Christmas Boxes were a symbol of the Lord of Christmas being laid in a box of stone; Jesus was God's Christmas gift to the world, but when Jesus was laid to rest he was in a box made of stone. The Christmas boxes, that are beautiful and ornate on the outside, show the Nativity, which symbolizes the first Christmas gift given to the world, but also the fact that the gift was given back to God after Jesus' death.
Mother's Love as an Allegory
Richard states that the love of a mother is so deep that is is an allegory for every other love that follows. Such love is an allegory because it represents everything that is beyond our understanding of love. The love of our mother teaches us how to love, making our love for our children and those around us an allegory of the original and strongest love that we have felt in our lives.
