Showers (Motif)
Ian takes multiple showers during the play, but insists that he can't get the stink off of him. The motif of cleanliness and showers in vain serve to represent the ways that Ian has guilt for the deeds he has committed in his life, an assurance that he must still stink, even after a shower. It represents the impurity of Ian as a character, the fact that he is unsavory and, ultimately, bad.
Flowers (Symbol)
When they arrive in the expensive hotel room, there is a bouquet of flowers. At the beginning of the play, the flowers are a symbol of luxury and the love that Ian wants Cate to feel from him, but soon enough, the flowers are shredded and petals are covering the floor. Then, the flowers become a symbol of the destruction and chaos that underscore the relationship between the two of them, the fact that there is a violent tremor, a threat that Ian wields against Cate.
Booze and Cigarettes (Symbol)
Throughout the play, Ian drinks to excess, downing extreme amounts of gin without a second thought and chain-smoking in moments of anxiety. This compulsive consumption represents Ian's self-destructive tendencies, his desire to descend into oblivion rather than face emotional realities. He is a largely unethical character who cares little for others and has no remorse for his mistreatment of Cate. His drinking and smoking make him all the more monstrous, both towards himself and towards the people in his orbit. They are symbols of his insatiable death drive.
Rape (Symbol)
Rape is, as an act in and of itself, a symbol of domination, control, and disregard for the humanity of another person. Blasted emphasizes this, as characters use rape as a way of getting the upper hand in situations when they feel desperate for some semblance of autonomy. In the course of the play, both Ian and Cate are raped, and their rapes represent both the violence that human beings inflict on one another, as well as the violence that society and war create. The Soldier is an extension of the state, himself a victim of the violence of war, and he passes on his traumatic experiences to Ian through his violent acts and his seeming remorselessness. Ian is an emasculated subject, and so rapes Cate to establish his dominance. In all these instances, the act of sexual violence stands in for traumatic response.
Meat (Symbol)
Cate won't eat meat and is physically disgusted by meat at the start of the play. She narrates her aversion to Ian with a passion, and her aversion to meat seems to symbolize her sensitivity, her purity, and her hatred of violence. At the very end of the play, she returns to the hotel room, bringing sausages and bread back for Ian. Her eating the meat in this moment symbolizes the ways that war and desperation have changed her, and made her more violent. She is no longer the sensitive flower from the beginning of the play, but a meat-eating fighter and survivor.
