In a metaphorical way, this image is transposed on the image of the woman "showing her teeth." She responds with the symbolic implications that she too is living in a sate of fear and resentment.
The reality that Elisa aspires to is again conveyed through the imagery and symbolic of a longing for a better existence. This can be seen when she whispers, "That's a bright direction. There's a glowing there." (DiYanni 464/465) the imagery refers to some other more amenable reality and relates to the underlying feeling that all is not as it should be in her life. This also relates to the images of possibility and hope at the start of the story; for example, "...she looked toward the river road where the willow-line was still yellow with frosted leaves so that under the high grey fog they seemed a thin band of sunshine. This was the only...
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