Latin Teaching Position

The Latin teaching position is symbolic of the division of women. While it initially appears as if giving the Latin teaching position to a woman (Beatrice) is a sign of women’s rights and advancement, the teaching position actually comes to symbolize the differences and division among women with respect to the subject. Beatrice is supported by Agatha as a matter of advancing women’s rights through trial, while Bettina Fothergill opposes it based on her own need for control and her feud with Agatha, with little concern for women’s rights themselves.

White Feathers

White feathers symbolize cowardice. In British custom, men who fail to answer the call to war are gifted by girls with white feathers, meaning they are cowards. Lucy explains she and her friends will be giving white feathers to men who do not heed her father’s call to...