Black (symbol)
Black is a symbol of Mrs. Maradick’s sorrow. Not so long ago, she had had everything others could only dream about. A wonderful daughter, a loving husband, an always welcoming home, and friends made her life perfect. However, that bliss didn’t last too long. The man she loved so much killed her daughter to be able to inherit Mrs. Maradick’s money. Those misfortunes destroyed her. The woman was “in a state of terror and despondency so black” that it “had almost crossed the border-line into madness.” She started wearing a “black veil” for “the child” she lost.
The old house (allegory)
“The old house” where Mr. and Mrs. Maradick lived is allegory of the past that can’t be erased. Doctor Maradick wanted to start a new life with a woman he had loved for so long. The problem was that he couldn’t do that in his “old house.” It kept reminding him about the crimes he had committed, the terrible injustice he had done to the mother and the child. The house was supposed to be “pulled down,” so there wouldn’t be “a brick left.” However, he couldn’t escape from himself and his recollections. The man didn’t deserve happiness after what he had done.
Sympathy (motif)
Sympathy is the main motif of the story. Margaret’s kind heart was her biggest treasure, it helped her to express “sympathy” even when she was exhausted by work and sick with worries. Even the superintendent wondered “how long” the nurse would be able to keep her “sympathy” and “imagination.” Mrs. Maradick found a new friend if a person of Margaret. Though she was “worn out” from “the strain on” her “sympathy,” she stayed by Mrs. Maradick’s side until the very end and did everything she could to help the poor woman.
