How does the author use symbolism in the novel, White Rose, Black Forest?

Franka's father's old revolver symbolizes Franka's despair at the beginning of the novel. Both her lover Hans and her brother Friedi are dead and she feels utterly without hope. Franka wanders into the Black Forest in order to use her father's revolver to commit suicide. The revolver is a symbol of how even those who are brave and resisting oppression from tyrannical forces can succumb to their darkest impulses when all hope seems lost.