Mouse

The mouse that appears in the sisters' bedroom after their father dies symbolizes desperation. Constantia worries that the mouse will have nothing to eat, and asks Josephine how mice "manage to live at all" (2). The mouse's situation parallels that of the sisters, who now must contend with a life without their father, who always told them what to do.

Father's Room

Father's room symbolizes the colonel's influence over his two daughters. When Josephine and Constantia enter the room to clear out his possessions, they are overwhelmed by the feeling that their father is still in the room. Afraid of encountering him, the sisters immediately leave. Their father's room represents his continued haunting of his daughters after his death.

The Black Man

The black man that both Josephine and Constantia imagine delivering the mail in Ceylon symbolizes victims of imperialist rule. Ceylon uses the native people as...