Religion

Religious symbols play an important role in the story of the Lisbon girls. Mrs. Lisbon, the girls' mother, is a deeply religious character who imposes her will onto the rest of the family. The girls are not allowed to wear any makeup or to wear revealing pieces of clothes. They are only allowed out of the house to attend school during the week or church on Sundays. Her belief on the dogmas of the Catholic faith is represented by the image of Virgin Mary printed on a plastic card. Obviously, she would rather keep her daughters virgins and at home. However, the evolving society that the Lisbon lives in is making her attempt at preserving her daughters' virginity quite futile. Cecilia constantly wears a wedding dress, announcing in defiance of her mother that she is on the verge of giving up her virginity. After her first attempt at...