The Edge of the Woods (Symbol)
At the poem's beginning, the speaker finds herself in a liminal space, caught between the safety of childhood and the unknown realm of adulthood. Whereas childhood is symbolized by houses and adolescence by an industrial landscape, adulthood is symbolized through the image of the woods. The woods are a place of fear and boredom for the speaker. She tears her clothes as she makes her way through them and finds herself stuck in the wolf's lair for years. At the poem's end, she escapes the forest. This subverts the established symbolism, suggesting that the dark and frightening woods are not the only possible model for an adult life.
Shoes (Symbol)
When going to the wolf's lair, the speaker loses her shoes in the woods. The loss of her shoes represents the loss of her innocence and indeed her independence as she falls under the wolf's power. She loses traces of her previous life, and she also loses access to the things that once gave her safety and comfort. Without shoes, the speaker is not only less presentable: she is also less able to move freely or escape.
Grandmother's Bones (Symbol)
When slicing open the wolf, the speaker finds her own grandmother’s bones inside of him—a symbol of the historical silencing of women. While the speaker is able to leave the wolf and pursue poetry on her own terms, she finds that generations before her lacked this option. With this image, Duffy invites readers to consider what has been lost artistically and otherwise through the suppression of certain individuals’ perspectives and creativity. Moreover, the speaker is able to find these bones only when she herself escapes and kills the wolf. Until she is free, she cannot even perceive what has been lost for women in the past.
