The Tarot Deck

Throughout The Cloisters, Hays utilizes the tarot deck as a symbol for fate. When Ann begins her work at The Cloisters, the research is devoted to Medieval divination. She notes that the culture in Florence and Ferrara was dictated by an obsession with understanding the future and swaying fortune. In the same manner that she is searching for the tarot deck that will validate that tarot was used in the occult during Medieval times, she is searching for the clues to her own future. When she finds the false front on the deck from Ketch Antiques, it symbolizes her realization that the clues to the future lie in unpacking the signs and symbols that guide her in the immediate present.

The Ram Rings

The author utilizes the ram rings, that Rachel purchases for herself and Ann, as a symbol for identity. When the women...