Symbolism: Fact or Fiction by Karla Stover

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Murder: When One Isn't Enough

A Line to Murder

Wynter's Way

Back when I was in high school, my English teacher was a firm believer in symbolism. She  touted it so much, the term became a running joke between me and my friends. (I was going to type "My  friends and I but then I couldn't remember which was correct, "I" or "Me".)  The one supposedly-symbolic piece of writing I remember from high school was Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." It was about death and that was that. Then, when I went to college to finish getting my degree, symbolism was out. What the author wrote was what he/she meant. However, I have since learned that symbolism is still in as far as the poem goes but that there are a lot of interpretations, to whit: the narrator is actually the horse, the traveler is Santa Clause and the horse represents his reindeer, or that since Frost and his bother both suffered from depression and his younger sister and daughter were both hospitalized with mental problems, he was suicidal. According to Robert Kennedy, his brother, John, applied the line "but I have promises to keep" to the Democratic party. It's a beautiful poem though Justin Trudeau, to honor his father, changed  

one line to read, "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. He has kept his promises and earned his sleep."

The Horror!

I'd pretty much forgotten about symbolism until I came across ideas about Alice in Wonderland in A House Unlocked, a memoir by Penelope Lively. According to her, at one time the rabbit hole was believed to represent a vagina, the pots of marmalade lubricating jell, and Alice's long neck a phallic symbol. I was dumbfounded and headed for Google. There I learned going down the rabbit hole was all about Alice being curious. Supposed, the Queen of Hearts was either Queen Victoria, or Alice's mother. The White Rabbit was a doctor to both Alice and the queen. One person wrote that "He (Carroll) used animal characters to be pessimistic influences on Alice. Another says the Mad Hatter represents "the unpleasant side of human nature." But then another says he was a guiding spirit. A book called Alice claims Alice was in an insane asylum. One essay I read said, "Alice suffers from Hallucinations and Personality Disorders, the White Rabbit from General Anxiety Disorder and that is why he keeps saying, “I’m late”, the Cheshire Cat is schizophrenic, as he disappears and reappears distorting reality."

Leaving Alice behind and soldiering on I learn that,  The “wuthering heights” in the book title are symbolic of the wild nature of the people involved in the story, Harry Potter's scar represents bravery, and that the "A" in the Scarlett Letter stands for adultery (at least that one makes sense.)

According to "industrialscripts.com," in the movie, Jaws, "The Mayor’s reaction to the shark can be seen as capitalism personified, and "the shark symbolizes the dynamic of human versus nature."

So many, opinions, so many essays: I guess, for most writers, having published a book or poem or screenplay so important so as to attract symbolism is a good thing.