A rain-beaten lily (allegory) (The abstract is taken from “Alicia’s Diary”)
“A rain-beaten lily” is an allegory of fragility and helpless. According to Alicia, her younger sister Caroline is not “self-dependent” enough to be able to cope with the hardships of this cruel world. Such “a sensitive and fragile child” like her needs a reliable “protector” to keep her safe and sound. Alicia decides that to be her sister’s guide and assistant is her chief responsibility, even if it means that she has to sacrifice her own happiness for her sister’s sake. What she forgets is the fact that lilies are not as weak as they might seem to be. These flowers are durable in all environments. Caroline is too like a lily, for she is “of a nature whose wounds soon heal, even though they may be deep.”
Venice (symbol) (The abstract is taken from “Alicia’s Diary”)
Venice is a symbol of “decay.” Some people say that it is one of the most beautiful and romantic cities, for its magnificent architecture and unique atmosphere do charm numerous tourists. However, Alicia would beg to disagree. The word which “Venice speaks more constantly” is “decay” and it is only “accentuated here” in “the Church of the Frari.” It seems that everything is sinking “into an earth” which is “not solid enough to bear it.” Alicia feels like sinking too, for she has to sacrifice her own happiness for her beloved sister’s sake. She pays the high price and that is the love of her life. Alicia and Charles’ love could bloom in full force, but now it is doomed to decay.
Weaving a web (motif) (The abstract is taken from “Alicia’s Diary”)
Weaving a web is the main motif of Alicia’s Diary. Scared out of her wits by the prospect of losing her sister, Alicia makes up her mind to sacrifice her own happiness for Caroline’s sake and persuades Charles to marry Caroline. She knows that her full recovery depends on Charles’ presence in her life, what is more Alicia understands that it puts an end to her and Charles hopes of a happy life together as a couple. Though she lied to Caroline and made Charles suffer, Alicia is still “glad” she saved her – her only sister. She will never become Charles’ wife, but she will have her sister! “In the awful approach of death,” one’s judgements “loses its balance.” She and Charles did wave “a tangled wed,” but they did it for Caroline.
“A sealed letter” (allegory) (The example is taken from “A Committee-Man of 'The Terror')
“A sealed letter” that awaited Mademoiselle V “on the mantelpiece” is an allegory of finality. The woman wanted to “let things take their course,” and “marry boldly the man who had so impressed her,” but that decision would “cost” her “immortal soul,” for he – her loved one – was guilty of her male relatives’ death. Mademoiselle had even tried to escape, but then returned whilst her “wild tergiversations were a secret from him” whom alone “they concerned.” “A sealed letter” that she found “on the mantelpiece” in her chamber put an end to her suffering. Monsieur B had set her free by breaking off the engagement.
“A coach” (symbol) (The example is taken from “A Committee-Man of 'The Terror')
“A coach” is a symbol of escape. Mademoiselle V’s life wasn’t an easy one. Ever since her father, brother and uncle were “guillotined,” she lived in fear. She fled France and escaped alone to “the foreign land” where no one knew her. The second time Mademoiselle V decides to run away, she takes “the coach,” passing through Casterbridge, and Shottsford. The woman understands that to get rid of Monsieur B’s influence she has to distance herself from this man; her “safety” lays “in flight.” She is “rolling out of the town in the dusk of September evening.”
Redemption (motif) (The example is taken from “A Committee-Man of 'The Terror')
Mademoiselle V asked Monsieur B if he had believed “in God” and repented of his “evil past.” He did not; the man thought of himself as “the instrument of national principle.” She thought he was heartless, but the truth was that she knew nothing about him. For instance, the young lady was completely unaware of the fact that “every qualm” she had felt “on the subject” of their marriage had been “paralleled” in his heart “to the full.”Though he loved and adored her, Monsieur B decided to set her free and by that he redeemed his violent past. He saved her from years of suffering, for no matter how much she loved him and wanted to be with him, the images of her dead relatives would forever stand between them.
