Allegory of assortative mating
The narrator, Lizzie, uses an allegory to describe assortative mating. She described it as a key fitting into a lock and opening a door. The question is whether that was the room that the person with the key wanted to spend the rest of their lives in. This allegory shows how assortative mating fits the people who practice it. However, the decision might not be in the best interests of the persons involved for they might regret it later.
Allegory of the narrator's dressing
The narrator uses the allegory of her dressing to show how she intends to differentiate herself with college students. Lizzie changed her dressing style to plainer clothes when she realized that her style was similar to that of college students. This is allegorical because Lizzie intends to distinguish herself from the students in everything.
Motif is stories within a story
The narrator interjects the main story which is of her daily life with the stories of other characters or past experiences. Lizzie tells the story of a man who traveled for a long distance with a child on his back, the story of the novel that she gave Mrs. Kovinski and a story of an ex-husband who used to help people on his way home and as a result he would get into trouble with his wife. These stories give the reader a good background of the characters and their lives.
Dream motif
In the novel, dreams are a common occurrence. They include Lizzie's nightmare that her brother would one day show up at her doorstep and ask if he could die at her apartment, a man with terrible dreams about being chased by demons and dreams that people would find her paper box where she wrote her feelings. These dreams show the internal conflicts in the narrator for they mostly reveal what she is most afraid of.
Henry's allegory of the birth of his child
Henry texts his sister Lizzie that heavy winds were blowing where he was. This is an allegory for the coming birth of his daughter. He used the allegory of the heavy winds because a child comes just as they do- once in a while, and the childbirth process is a rough one just as the winds are.
