The Black Veil is a symbol of grieving
Black as a color is a symbol of sadness and grieving in most places. It was expected that during funerals people would wear black and not any other color. Their mother wore a black veil to signify her grief for her husband’s death. The black veil was also worn by women grieving to hide their puffy faces from people, it gave space to grieve in solitude. The black veil also signified one’s intention of not wanting any entanglement with men and should therefore be left alone.
The siblings as a symbol of selfishness
The siblings represent selfishness and a lack of concern for loved ones. They viewed their mother as a burden with each giving excuses for why they could not live with her. They only came to the funeral to collect the inheritance their father had left for them. They did not genuinely care for their mother and were waiting for their share and leaving. They did not want to stay any longer in their family estate as shown through their return train tickets for the same day. They did not come to stay with their mother and give her company during the funeral but they saw it as a duty they had to do.
Mrs. McPherson as a Symbol of Liberty
Their mother represents all women who spent many years of their lives serving others and therefore never had any time for themselves. She signifies women who were tired of patriarchy and wanted to be recognized as real people with feelings. She indicates the progress a woman would make if given a chance to manage properties. She feels alive after her husband dies because she knows she will never have a duty to serve him since she was tired of duty. She expresses how she wants to spend the rest of her life seeing the world and taking care of herself.
Greed and Selfishness as motif
The family in this story is dysfunctional as can be seen through the actions of the three siblings. The siblings are caught in a dispute with their mother about the inheritance that their father had left them. They are also going back and forth about who was going to take care of their mother after the funeral. They were surprised to learn that the estate now belonged to their mother and they were asking that they be given their share so that they could leave. The children’s selfishness was extreme with each of them seeing their mother as a burden. They had come to the funeral only out of obligation and not concern or care. They were not concerned with how their mother was doing but rather how much each of them would get from the estate.
