The Witch in the Woods
The witch in the woods who demands the sacrifice of children does not actually exist. While there are genuine witches that do exist, this particular witch is a construct of the Elders who have invented the fiction to maintain authority and control over the Protectorate.
The Library
The library is explicitly situated as a symbolic incarnation of knowledge with the caveat that knowledge is a power which works both ways. The library is the storage facility for all knowledge which makes it merely a vessel. Knowledge is power and withholding knowledge is power so the library itself is excepted from all moral considerations of distribution of that knowledge. Thus, the library is a symbolic incarnation of knowledge with the underlying understanding that no particular piece of knowledge is in itself either good or evil; the library is free from such moral absolutes.
The Elders
The Elders fabricate a myth about the witch in the woods which in and of itself is lacks any moral dimension; the myth is neither good nor evil. The myth becomes evil only as a result of the purpose for which it has moved beyond myth into the realm of fact. The Elders in this way come to symbolize manipulation of knowledge is what creates a moral dilemma around a creative product.
Sisters of the Star
The Sisterhood has an unofficial motto which guides their decision-making processes relative to the knowledge contained in the library: “Knowledge is a terrible power indeed.” The irony surrounding this motto is that it not really—despite it being repeated ad infinitum—knowledge which has the power, but the authority over dissemination of that knowledge. The Sisterhood jealously guards that authority by not dissemination it freely and equitably to all. And so ,what they symbolize has a very familiar name: censorship.
Tigers
Tiger imagery permeates the novel, and the animal is clearly intended to be viewed as symbolic. A precise calculation of this symbolism is more difficult than other examples in the book, but it is also clear enough that the tiger is intended to directly connect to the idea of knowledge and power. At various times throughout the narrative, the tiger imagery symbolizes fear, tenacity, courage, untamed danger, and multiple other concepts. Like knowledge, the tiger imagery seems intended to be a symbol dependent upon perception at any given time. What is important to keep in mind, however, is the tiger isn’t just a symbol, but exists primarily within the realm of metaphor: the references are not to actual tigers, but to tiger characteristics or, in the case of fear, sometimes just the imagined idea of tiger-ism.
