Books

Throughout the novel, repeated references to and images of books are symbolic of escape. Indeed, throughout her life, the narrator has relied upon books as a way to alleviate her loneliness, to transcend her reality, and to inhabit new identities. Books have kept her alive by helping her to withstand the most difficult eras of her life.

Blood

Images of menstrual blood are symbolic of the true self. In Chapter II, he narrator recounts a time she bled through her pants in grade school. The memory helps her to trace her relationship with her menstrual cycle, and thus with her own body. When she stops using tampons and starts using napkins, the narrator is allowing what is inside her to come out of her unimpeded. The blood is thus representative of her unbridled and unhindered essence.

Face

The face the narrator draws in her exercise notebook...