What are books a symbol of?

Books arise as an important symbol in the woman’s flashback, as they do not simply symbolize education, but more specifically symbolize freedom. When the woman is much younger, her books are taken away from her as she is forced into child labor. This crushes the woman’s dreams of becoming an educated woman, but in the end, she is able to take back her books as she flees her country. The woman’s persistence to receive an education from her books is what eventually pushes her to escape her country, and thus achieve freedom.