Kelty’s family

Kelty, Midge, and Fergus symbolize the happy family Hazel feels she is undeserving of. Hazel secretly envies Kelty’s motherhood but feels she would be an inadequate mother given how she failed to keep Flora safe. Hazel later discovers that her main problem lies not in her capacity for motherhood, but in her choice of romantic partner.

Hazel’s flat

The wear and tear of Hazel’s home symbolize the physical and emotional devastation of London during the Blitz. Hazel regards it as her duty to keep the memory of the war and Flora alive and thus remains in her childhood home despite possessing the means to move out.

Hazel’s notebooks

The notebooks Hazel keeps buying but never writes in symbolize her creative stuntedness due to Flora’s disappearance. Hazel must first conquer the writer’s block that Flora’s disappearance created if...