Kate's Floral Dress

Kate's floral dress is a much-loved piece of clothing and it is what she is wearing when she first checks into the hospital after receiving her cancer diagnosis. This dress is a symbol of her past life as a healthy, happy, and successful woman. Kate initially does not want to take off this dress because she tells herself that she needs it for teaching. As such, it not only symbolizes her past life and her inability to let go of it, it also signifies the belief that her life and career will be able to go on as usual. When she finally does take off this dress, she replaces it with a hospital gown, thus symbolizing her transition from a so-called "regular person" to a person with cancer. Taking off the dress and asking her friends to burn it for her suggests that Kate is...