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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

Yvette's Red Boots

Yvette's red boots are one of the play's most ready symbols. An archetypal fetish object, they represent femininity and feminine eroticism. Thus, it makes sense that they belong to the play's whore. Kattrin dons these boots playfully in Scene Three, imitating Yvette's walk in a private daydream. Brecht's Courage Model Book argues that she does so because prostitution is the only way love remains available to her in wartime. In doing so, it perhaps overstates the case and, strangely enough, assumes Kattrin's total identification with her friend. Kattrin's masquerade as the whore does not necessarily mean she aims to become one.

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