Heroines - “Dream Children”
Godwin writes, “The way she looked: like those heroines in English novels who ride off their bad tempers and unrequited love affairs, clenching their thighs against the flanks of spirited horses with murderous eyes.” The subject is comparable to heroines because her habitual riding bids connotations of her distress which she seeks to relieve through riding. Like the heroines, the subjects project their agony to horse riding.
Generals - “False Lights”
Violet suggests, “I think it would feel less so to me if we could meet, just the two of us, in some neutral place, the way of generals of opposing sides meet to sign a truce. Not that we need sign a truce exactly. We are not on opposite sides." The metaphorical generals is an acknowledgment that both Violet and Annette are in a polygamous setting whereby they share a husband. They share the heart of one man which makes both of them Mrs. Bandema. The recommendation to meet can be useful in them getting acquainted with each other
Human being - “Dream Children”
Godwin describes, “Through the window of her (Mrs. Frye) store she sees her customer's pert bottle-green car, some sort of little foreign car with the engine running, filled with groceries and weekend parcels, and that big silver-blue dog sitting up in the front seat just like a human being.” Mrs McNair’s dog is similar to a human being who offers her company in the absence of her husband including accompanying her on her shopping trips. The dog’s sitting posture confirms that it is comfortable with Mrs. McNair and its position in her life.
Renegade - “Dream Children”
Godwin writes, “Now, in the kitchen, she looked at him backing away, a little like a renegade in one of his own shows -- a desperate man, perhaps, who has just killed somebody and is backing away, hands dangling loosely at his sides.” Equating Mr. McNair to a renegade underscores his desperation. He is so distracted that he goes to the kitchen. His uneasiness confirms that his life is not smooth. The 'backing away' aids him to lead a secret lifestyle to aid in concealing his omnipresent anxiety.
Wind - “Dream Children”
Godwin explains, “She rode her horse through the fields of the waning season, letting him have his head; she rode like the wind, a happy, happy woman. She rode faster than fear because she was a woman in a dream, a woman anxiously awaiting her child's sleep." Wind underscores Mrs. McNair's happiness which is attributed to the thoughts of her imaginary child. While riding, she is in a different world than her child is. She is so immersed in her imaginations that she fails to realize that she is riding dangerously.
