The Dagger

The dagger that Eliza kills Zeke with in the end symbolizes the patriarchal society that she lives in. Daggers, knives, and other weapons are often used as phallic symbols, meant to represent men’s power to subjugate women. Here, after learning so much about the world from Jean, who herself often dresses as a man, Eliza takes the symbol of this patriarchal society and kills a murderer with it – a murderer who himself benefitted from the power men hold in society in that no one was investigating the murders.

Olive's fire screen

Olive’s fire screen symbolizes the life that women should be able to lead, but are forced not to within society. Her needlework depicts “some birds flying over trees that were recognizable Monterey oaks” (63). The birds themselves symbolize Olive’s (and other women’s) wishes for a life that does not resemble the...