Chicago as home base
For Laurel, this story is like a hero's journey. She departs from the tall windy city of Chicago, and when she is done with her time in Louisiana, she returns to Chicago again. Chicago's acute angles and bustling enterprise are a reminder to Laurel of her own individuality. She isn't living amongst a network of family in Chicago, that the reader knows of, so Chicago is her own private refuge. She is something like a classic Northerner, it seems.
New Orleans as a Gothic underworld
This novel features New Orleans as a kind of antebellum underworld. The idea is that the ornate beauty of the French influence makes the town an oasis from the changing world. In New Orleans, life seems to be permanently frozen by the strong cultural ties that unite the town. For instance, religion, politeness, and decorum. The under-worldly effect comes when Eudora Welty begins explaining what people are really like behind closed doors.
Mardi Gras and religion
The imagery of Mardi Gras is obviously featured, and it is contrasted with the beautiful Gothic undertones of religion in the South. The churches in New Orleans are beautiful, and in another delightfully ironic way, Mardi Gras is equally beautiful. The story shows the inadvertent negative effect of socially imposed religious strictures: It brings out absolute indulgence in the town. The imagery suggests that human nature is to pursue happiness.
Mississippi and the Deep South
Another important instance of imagery is the depiction of the setting change, when Laurel and Fay go to Mississippi. The idea of the transition is to show that the South is vibrant. The two settings are different enough that the reader sees a broader cultural implication: Not only is the American South particularly idiosyncratic—it is also diverse. In Mississippi, the women have a hard time connecting, because the surroundings bring out a kind of dread in them. The sleepy South has an ominous, deathly feel.
