Gravestone

The gravestone for the stillborn child symbolizes the reality of the past and the reality of the future. Not untouched by tragedy, Anna loses the baby after her miraculous survival of the circus disaster. The narrator notes that the gravestone at the child's grave seems to grow more and more defined over time, and suggests that it is approaching the house. This representation of the gravestone reminds readers of the tragic reality that Anna experienced in her youth and the impending reality of losing her mother that the narrator must face.