Dolls

Dolls represent intuition and remembrance in the novel. They represent intuition as often ideas the main characters understand but cannot fully articulate are articulated through the dolls. For example, Winona tells Cora that if Jack breaks, he will bring her down with him. Cora already knows that her parents would not approve of Jack even though they have not met him, demonstrating that she holds this understanding deep within her. Cora tires of hearing Winona’s warnings about Jack and puts the doll away. The doll, Ethel, also represents intuition as she understands Lillian’s anger and the danger it poses for Sissy. For years Sissy does not know if it is Ethel who pushed her mother down the stairs because Ethel so clearly understood the danger.

Some of the dolls should have been destroyed or lost forever, but they make their way back to their...