The Garden (Symbol)
The garden, which the narrator uses as a ploy in order to talk his way into living with Juliana and Miss Tita, is a physical symbol that embodies the narrator's false intentions. Although he discusses the garden as a beautiful project when trying to convince Miss Tita and Juliana to let him live there, he underestimates the amount of work the garden will take in order to be made beautiful, just like he underestimates how difficult it will be to break into Juliana's room or gain her trust. The garden flourishes when he is inspired and trying to impress Miss Tita in order to get her to help him, but when she refuses, he abandons the garden because he sees no point in wasting his energy on it if Miss Tita will not help him in return. The garden reflects the mood of the narrator in relation to his project, and is a physical representation of the narrator's own obsession with the papers; when he can't use it in order to obtain them, he abandons it.
The Palazzo (Symbol)
The Bordereaus' mansion is old and decaying, just like Juliana herself. It represents the fading past, as well as the small moments of glory or beauty that pull the narrator into its depths. Although the palazzo has long passed its prime days, when it was filled with guests and parties, the narrator projects possible memories onto it related to Jeffrey Aspern, and he must reside within this house that is tied to the past in order to access Aspern's past. The palazzo symbolizes history and the passing of time, as well as being a tool that Juliana uses in order to squeeze more money out of the narrator by charging him exorbitantly to rent rooms in it.
Loneliness (Motif)
One of the central conflicts that the novella explores is loneliness, especially in the character of Miss Tita. Miss Tita has been lonely for much of her life, and when the narrator comes to the house, she clings to him as he disrupts her loneliness and shows her kindness (although she does not yet know that this kindness is disingenuous). The narrator also confronts loneliness, although in a less direct way: he runs away from loneliness by seeking the imagined companion of deceased poet Jeffrey Aspern.
Juliana's Past (Allegory)
Juliana's past as the daughter of an artist and the lover of Jeffrey Aspern serves as an allegory about the glory of the past, representing a time in which art flourished and Romantic ideals were prevalent throughout society. It is also an important element in the narrator's own investment in Juliana; when she confirms her past, the narrator becomes even more determined to get the letters since her past is exactly what he had guessed it was based on his own observations.
Decay (Motif)
While Europe is often written about in a way that emphasizes the beauty of its cultural history, in The Aspern Papers, decaying mansions and gardens press in upon the narrator and the mansion's inhabitants, serving as a constant reminder of time passing and the looming possibility of death—which later comes about in the death of Juliana. The narrator must put up with an environment that is haunted by the past in order to get access to the past that he fantasizes about in Aspern's letters.
