Square Silver Shoe Buckle
This symbol appears early in the story in the memories of the
first character we encounter. The unnamed married man recalls the square silver
shoe buckle of his former sweetheart, Lily. It might no...
Dragonfly
The dragonfly appears in the married man's reflections alongside
the silver shoe buckle. He remembers that when he was proposing to Lily, a "dragonfly
kept circling round us: how clearly I see the...
Parasol
The parasol belongs to Trissie, the young girl who appears
near the conclusion of the story, and it plays an important role in explaining
the relationship between her and the young man.
The cou...
Flowers
In "Kew Gardens," the flowers are sources of
wonder and sites of immense natural beauty. Consider the opening sentence of
the story:
From the
oval-shaped flower-bed there rose perhaps a hundred...
Gardens
It is important to keep in mind that the gardens we visit in
this story are situated in the middle of a bustling urban center. They offer
city-dwellers a respite and an escape from the hustle of Lo...
Snail
Finally, we get to our favorite part of the story: the
snail. This little guy gets two hefty paragraphs in the story—that's more than
some of the characters. So what's significant about him? All...