Princess Diana

Princess Diana appears throughout the novel and symbolizes Rebecca’s propensity to idolize people foreign to her, such as celebrities and black people. Rebecca expresses a repeated desire to achieve Diana’s beauty, compassion, and maternal ability. Only after Diana’s death does Rebecca realize that worshipping the Princess was unfounded. Rebecca knew only the version of Diana presented by the media. When Diana dies, Rebecca understands that everything she admired about the Princess could have been a lie. This realization helps Rebecca accept that her admiration for Priscilla might have emerged from a similarly unrealistic perception of this woman she hardly knew.

Orgasm

On multiple occasions, Rebecca describes orgasm as a shameful or embarrassing pleasure. Her inability to fully enjoy sex recalls her need to atone for Priscilla’s death and repay her for establishing order and thus happiness in the Stones’ lives. Orgasm...