She takes up gardening because the liveliness of the garden reminds her of the possibility for renewal and liveliness more generally, but after Will's accident cannot bring herself to work in it, since she feels so hopeless. The garden simultaneously expresses, reinforces, and symbolizes her feelings of hope. Camilla's Garden (symbol)Ĭamilla's garden is a complicated symbol, because it has symbolic significance not only for the reader but for Camilla herself. Though she feels torn between freedom and loyalty, the image of the bee reminds us of how she might strike a balance. These animals, then, are the perfect symbol of Lou when she combines both of these tendencies. But they're also industrious and helpful, just like Lou when she helps Will and works to support her family.
Bees can fly, so in that sense they represent Lou spreading her wings and finding freedom, just as Will encourages her to do.
The insects are a symbol of Lou herself-or, in any case, of the version of Lou that has reached its fullest potential. She wears bumblebee tights, calls herself "Busy Bee" in her online chatroom, and gets a tattoo of a bee. Bees (symbol)īees crop up time after time in this book, and they're always associated with Lou. This hints that photographs in the world of this novel symbolize not only the past, but false representations of the past.
The symbolism of Will's photos gets added depth when we learn about an old photo of Lou and Patrick, in which they look happy and in love despite being in a fight. Eventually, the pictures end up tucked away in a drawer, which represents the fact that Will maintains an attachment to his old life but tries not to dwell on it, and has turned his attention to the future. Alicia and Rupert's announcement that they are engaged prompts Will to recognize that he cannot return to his old life, and he violently destroys the pictures, feeling angry at Alicia and at figures from his past more generally. When Lou meets him, the pictures are still on display, signifying his attachment to that period and unwillingness to accept that it has ended. The photos that Will keeps in his room when Lou first meets him symbolize his old way of life, and Will's attitude towards the photos is a reflection of his attitude towards that period more generally.
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