Water

Throughout the play, and as defined by the presence of a pool in the middle of the stage, water represents several things - the power of love, the power and danger of nature, and the enduring power of human longing, joy, and curiosity. On another level, it also becomes a physicalization, or externalization, of obstacles and difficulties faced by the characters as they struggle to achieve their goals and intentions.

Washing Clothes

At the beginning of the play, when the Laundresses wash clothes in the onstage pool of water, it represents humanity's need and/or desire to cleanse itself - of uncertainty, of frailties and weaknesses like desire, and of feelings like regret. The image, combined with the Prologue's reference to humanity's search for meaning and the way in which many of the characters in many of the stories interact with the gods, suggests that there...