The widow with two mites
The Bible story of the widow with two mites is a story about a complete sacrifice for the greater cause without consideration for oneself. In the story the widow throws her only two mites (coins) that she has into the treasury. In the story "The Widow's Mite" Nora Fields wants to find a way to mirror this sacrifice. She wants to give something of herself to help the greater cause of fighting the poverty without consideration of her own well-being. At the end she realizes it not to be an easy thing to be a widow with two mites not because it was hard for her to sacrifice something, but because that sacrifice in the long run seemed much smaller than she previously thought.
Mackenzie's red nose
Upon arriving at the Editor's office there is a peculiar attribute of Mackenzie's that appears to be the most distinguishable to the Editor. That is Mackenzie's furiously red nose. He describes the nose to be rather ordinary, not unattractive, but it is the redness of the nose that troubles the Editor. That red nose should have been a warning, a foreshadowing, to the editor of what's going to happen. The red nose is a symbol of Mackenzie's fall, a symbol of a fallen gentlemanly scholar who surrendered himself to misery of life.
The mistletoe bough
From the story "The Mistletoe Bough" Elizabeth is arguing with her mother trying to convince her to give up the mistletoe bough for the year's Christmas. Elizabeth's reasoning is that she's been in a relationship with Godfrey Holmes and she ended the relationship not long after it started. He father is left unaware of this and therefore she couldn't stand the mistletoe bough being hanged in her father's hall. At the end when the couple reconcile and the truth about their relationship comes to her father's knowledge the mistletoe bough is finally hung in the hall.
Green glasses of Madame Bauche
From the story "La Mere Bauche" the main character Madame Bauche is an older strict lady who is authoritative in her running of her hotel. She is rarely seen without her green reading glasses who contribute to her authority even more, in fact, they appear to have an authority of their own. After she gets indirectly involved in the young girl's tragic end, Madame Bauche is never seen with her green glasses again.
