The Stone Thrower (“Requiem for a Glass Heart”)
The ‘stone thrower’ is representative of two-facedness. On one hand, the stone thrower play-acts that he is exultant with his wife; on the other, the stone thrower seeks out sexual gratification from another woman who is not ‘glassy’.
Glass Tears (“Requiem for a Glass Heart”)
The ‘glass wife’ sheds “glass tears “ after apprehending that her husband is going to his mistress’ house. The glass tears’ are an exemplification of affected piety. The glass tears cannot be genuine as the woman herself is not authentic.
Glass (“Requiem for a Glass Heart”)
Overall, glass is symbolic of insubstantiality as it is predisposed to wreckage. The all-inclusive marriage and household items are exposed to wreckage as they are composed of brittle glass.
‘The Mark of Cain’- “The Mark of Cain”
The Mark of Cain is a motif of self-abnegation. The story implicates two brothers who are parallel to Abel and Cain in the Bible. The narrator becomes the ransom for the two brothers’ pleasure. Accordingly, the narrator endures the “Mark of Cain”
“Tall Buildings”- “The Mark of Cain”
‘Tall buildings’ are an exemplification of independence. The tall buildings , such as the one, the narrator and Jacob visit, give the narrator the illusion of liberty that she hankers to have so that she can live her life with Jacob.
