Death – the great destroyer (Motif)
Death is the part of human life. It takes our close and dear people and we can’t do anything with it. But in some way Death makes us treasure every moment of life. Mary hates Death, because it left her alone in this big and ugly city. She feels terrible, but it also made her stronger. Mary understands that there is no one to give her a hand and she needs to work hard in order to survive. And now, she lives for herself, but she remembers these people, who were the part of her life, who believed in her strengths and gave her the reason to live.
Unity of modern women (Motif)
“All we modern women are going to help each other, not to hinder”, - says Mary to Alison. They are a new generation of women – strong, self-sufficient, and confident. They live for themselves, they can make the first step, they work hard to achieve a success, they have a power. But they are lonely, and they need to unite, to set their power free and protect themselves together.
Life is a theater (Allegory)
As the narrative indicates, you should wear a mask when you are out of the home: be polite with people you hate, hide your real feelings and emotions in order to avoid gossips. That’s why Mary can’t run away from the theater, when she sees Vincent, her love, with his fiancée, because otherwise all those people “with diamonds put in all the wrong places” won’t understand her. She must keep calm and smile, because no one should know about her real feelings. And sometimes the spectacles in real life are much more interesting than those on the stage.
The presence of flowers (Symbol)
Flowers are associated with different events in the life of the main character: at her father’s funeral the flowers were “waxen”, and their odor was suffocating. However, when she is waiting for her lover and buys the flowers to decorate a room, their beauty represents her happiness, because she will see her love soon and their scent is also great.
