Describe symbolism in The Legend of the Christmas Rose by Selma Lagerlof

The author also uses symbols as literary techniques to help convey important messages. When the lay brother and the abbot visit the Christmas Eve garden, "a little forest dove plucked up courage, flew down to the lay brother's shoulder, and laid her head against her cheek." The dove is a universal symbol of peace, and the small bird signifies and extension of God's peace to the lay brother, who ultimately rejects the celestial offer and ruins the garden.

The forest and the garden are also universal symbols in literature. Forests are usually dark, frightening places through which characters must pass through, symbolizing some emotional or physical transformation. Gardens, of course, are sources of new life, vitality, and the promise of hope. Both the abbot and the lay brother crossed through the literal and symbolic forest to reach the garden, each with a different perspective, lesson, and ultimate outcome.