Connie’s Letter to Benita

Connie’s final letter to Benita symbolizes Benita’s mixed feelings towards her husband, her grief over his death, and her denial of the past. It also symbolizes Marianne’s love for Connie. Marianne has kept the letter to deliver to Benita since the war was over, though has a hard time handing it over once she has recovered Benita. This symbolizes her own denial of Benita’s relationship with Connie. Benita’s subsequent refusal to open Connie’s final letter for five years shows her own denial and feelings towards her ex-husband, and her inability to forgive him for not making her a priority. When she finally reads the letter at the end of Part 3 and kills herself afterwards, the letter becomes a symbol of Benita’s inability to live in denial anymore, and by accepting reality she is forced to...