The Others: Symbol Analysis

In The Others there are many things viewed as symbolic.

• Doors and Locks: In the film Grace is persistent that all doors must remain shut and locked; that no door shall open without the previous one being shut. She does this in order to shut out light from flooding throughout the manor and harming her photosensitive children. The shut and locked doors symbolizes something being hidden and enclosed. In this case both the view and the protagonists are not aware of the secret that known at the conclusion of the film. Doors also have a figuration of being entryways to other worlds and realms. The continuous sounds of doors being shut, slammed, and locked adds to the ominous essence of the film.

•  Mirrors: Throughout the film, mirrors are presently shown. Mirrors have many religious people have different connotations about mirrors. It is believed that someone who is gazing into the mirror at their own reflection could loose their soul in the process. Also, mirrors reconfirm the existence of something, and people would cover their mirrors to keep the dead from coming to earth. Mirrors that do not give off a reflection represents nothingness but could be a portal into different worlds. Religion plays an important role in this movie and so mirrors are a very important representation of all these things.

• Curtains: Curtains as well as doors and locks keep things hidden and brings a sense of forbiddingness to the film. All the curtains in the house are extremely crucial  to the family because it is a barrier to keep out the light. It symbolizes a veil of disguise for the family, although they are not aware what they are hiding. The family can hide behind the curtains in their own little world, closed off from the outside.

•  The Childrens' Illness:  The illness that the children bare foreshadows the truth that they are the ghosts in the house. The illness gives an excuse for their way of living, having all the doors shut and locked at all times, not having light brighter than that of a candle, and keeping outside light out with drawn curtains. The viewer believes the family is limited to just their house because of their sickness but in actuality they are stuck in the house in "limbo".