"The Little Foxes" (Allegory)
The title itself is a kind of allegory for the action of the play, particularly the Hubbard family. By titling the play The Little Foxes, but never referencing in the text itself who the "foxes" are, it is up to the audience to surmise that the Hubbards, in all their ruthlessness and selfishness, are symbolic stand-ins for the foxes. The title comes from a verse in the Bible that reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." The Hubbards are people who take and take, with no regard for the needs of others, much like the foxes of this verse. Thus, the title is a kind of moral allegory.
Money (Symbol)
Money itself is a symbol for the ways that the characters have been corrupted by their own greed. Even though Regina is perfectly comfortable economically, she still wants more, and her insatiable desire for wealth drives her away from both her husband and her daughter. For Regina especially, money symbolizes a control and autonomy that she feels she has never been afforded as a woman. Having been left nothing by her father, Regina feels cheated of the chance to have an independent life and manage her own business affairs.
Hunting (Motif)
Throughout the play, reference is made to Oscar's hunting habit. We learn that he goes out hunting every day for sport. It is never a practical hunting journey, and he leaves the animals that he kills. Birdie and other characters disapprove of this practice because of its brutality and also because it is inconsiderate to the community, primarily black people who do not have enough food to eat. Hunting symbolizes Oscar's selfishness and his desire to prosper at the expense of others.
Headache (Symbol)
Throughout the play, when Birdie is too intoxicated, the characters refer to her shameful drunkenness as a "headache." Later in the play, Birdie tells Alexandra that she has never had a headache a day in her life. Her "headaches" are thus a symbol of how Oscar and the rest of the family have tried to cover up their abuse of her as well as her alcoholism by silencing her and pretending she is ill.
Lionnet (Symbol)
Lionnet is Birdie's family plantation which has gone from a well-maintained and luxurious environment to a dilapidated one. The plantation represents both Birdie, who like the land has been tossed aside and ignored, as well as the changing economics and landscape of the American South. The plantation that Birdie longs to recreate is one that represents the prosperity of antebellum Alabama. Before the war, a place like Lionnet, run by slaves, could function seamlessly, an image of genteel Southern living. Now, however, that prosperity has been stripped away and the unkempt plantation represents the ways that the plantation is no longer supported. It also represents the fact that Oscar, Birdie's husband, is only interested in his own personal gain, but does not want to help his wife, or spend his money in a way that might benefit the community.
