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The Wooden Leg
Hulga’s wooden leg symbolizes her soul. When she lost her leg in a childhood hunting accident, she lost a part of herself literally and figuratively. Like the leg, she is hard on the outside but hollow on the inside. She hides it from people. Hulga feels about her leg as a peacock does its tail. It is part of her, and she is both sensitive and proud of it at the same time. When she willingly takes it off for Manley, it is like giving her soul to him. When he keeps it from her, it is a betrayal, and she feels vulnerable.
Hulga’s Glasses
Hulga’s glasses symbolize her knowledge and education, which she thinks help her see the world more clearly. Manley takes away Hulga’s glasses during a moment of intimacy. The act shows that the intimacy makes her blind to his evil. Taking her glasses gives him control over how she sees the world. When he leaves without giving them back, he takes away her old way of seeing the world. Her knowledge and education can no longer be the lens through which she observes the world.
The Bible
In the story, the Bible represents an image of faith and morality. Manley’s valise is heavy, presumably with Bibles. The impression the Bible gives at this point is that faith and morality are heavy burdens to bear. But the next day, when Manley walks with Hulga, his valise seems lighter. When he opens the valise, it contains only two Bibles, revealing that Manley is a fraud. One Bible is hollowed out, holding a flask of whiskey, a pack of pornographic playing cards, and condoms. Like Manley, this Bible presents an outward image of faith and morality, but within lies sin. Manley’s Bible, then, symbolizes religious hypocrisy.
