The shoehorn is a symbol of hope throughout the play, Misto uses it as a motif to symbolise hope and faith. From the first time it is mentioned the audience understand that it's very important as it was a gift to Bridie from her father.
The shoe horn is given to Birdie by her father, so that she can make her boots last longer. However, it becomes a symbol of survival. It is a symbol of participation in the choir because Birdie beat time for the singers with it. It was also a symbol of survival to Birdie in that she gave it to Sheila to trade for medicine; Sheila had kept hold of it and traded a sexual favor instead. When she sees Birdie again fifty years later she gives her the shoe horn and it has come to symbolize not only the fact that the both survived the war but also of what they had to do in order to survive it.
