Veil
Roseanne explicates, “There is something wrong with his (John Kane's) tongue, because he is obliged to swallow every few moments with strange hard-ship. His face has a veil of dark-blue veins in it, like a soldier’s face that has been too near a cannon mouth when it exploded.” The veil embodies the rifeness of veins on John Kane's face. Veins dominate the face to the degree that it would be unmanageable to overlook them.
Silence
Roseanne asserts, “In here, among the shadows and the distant cries, the greatest virtue is silence. Those that feed them do not love them, those that clothe them do not fear for them. That is a quotation from something, what or where I do not know.” Roseanne’s assertion about silence is representative of her restricted exchanges with other individuals at the hospital such as John Kane. For Roseanne, quietness is more valuable than vain dialogues.
Old
The characters at the mental facility are mostly elderly: “Old, old faces, as old as my own now. I was astonished. They had lain there not too far away from me and I did not know. Old faces that said nothing, lying in stupor, like fifty Russian icons. Who were they? Why, they were your own people. Silent, silent, sleeping towards death, crawling on bleeding knees towards our Lord.” Roseanne’s portrayal of the old folks conjectures that their lifespans are almost over. Old age surges the risks of demise and other ailments that warrant institutionalization. Seemingly, they are waiting for their expiries having drained their vibrancy.
‘The Blue Egg Shell’
Roseanne states, “It had sat in the window niche and he had never referred to it before. But it had lain there, blue and perfect and never ageing. Yet an old thing. Many many generations of birds ago.” The shell exemplifies vibrancy and impeccability due to its endurance which is not impacted by aging. Unlike humans, the shell does not diminish in terms of its freshness.
