51 pages • 1 hour read
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
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Symbols & Motifs
The Mortar
Esther’s mortar and pestle serve as a complex symbol that stands for Esther’s heritage, the efficacy of her knowledge of herbal traditions and healing, and Augusta’s inheritance of this tradition. Though first and foremost a means to crush and mix herbs and other ingredients, the mortar is also, as described in the Author’s Note, a “modern day incantation bowl” (309). Esther’s mortar is described as plain and about four inches across. “Inside,” Augusta notes, “faded words were carved into the metal—beginning at the bottom and swirling upward in a single spiral toward the rim” (34).
The mortar is, in one respect, an indicator of Esther’s Jewish ancestry. Incantation bowls are artifacts originating in the ancient Middle East and the cultures of Mesopotamia. They are bowls that have inscribed text on the inside—these are most often magical spells for protection, fortune, or healing. The majority of existing Jewish incantation bowls are inscribed in Jewish Aramaic and date to the third to seventh centuries CE. Esther’s bowl offers a prayer for restoration, signaling Esther’s participation in a family lineage of healers. Augusta is part of this, too.
As Augusta associates the repetition of the verse with Esther’s herbal preparations, she comes to suspect that a magic spell is behind the efficacy of Esther’s remedies. The mortar thus represents not just Esther’s knowledge but her abilities, which Augusta for a time believes superior to the Western traditions of medicine to which her father adheres. However, when she fails to prevent Esther from dying, Augusta declines to inherit Esther’s tools, having lost her faith in her own ability to use them as intended. Later, when Jackie passes along Esther’s robe, apothecary case, and the inscribed mortar, this transition symbolizes Augusta’s return to her calling as a healer who can combine Esther’s herbal knowledge with her own pharmaceutical understanding. Augusta’s successes, hinted at in the Epilogue, indicate that this blending brings together the best of both worlds and makes Augusta’s healing abilities all the more powerful.
Swimming Pools
Swimming pools are a motif that serve as a space of self-awareness, self-control, refuge, and connection. Initially, swimming pools symbolize how Augusta has become strictly self-contained due to the pain of grief. After her mother dies, Augusta declines to swim in the ocean, a place she associates with her mother but also with danger and potential loss. Instead, she chooses the disciplined, if chemical-heavy confines of a swimming pool, since it offers much less risk.
The pool at Rallentando Springs becomes a point of connection, aiding Augusta’s transition to her life of retirement by still allowing her this activity she enjoys. The pool connects her, first, to Irving, who recognizes her there; second, she reconnects with Nathaniel, another friend from her youth. When things between her and Irving become contentious, with Augusta still feeling guarded and hurt, the pool connects them as Augusta joins Irving in his morning exercise. It affords her space to relax, to understand her feelings, and to forgive him.
The Rallentando Springs pool deck is also a space that offers connection and community. However, while the pool offers a safe space for Augusta to work through her feelings, the ocean signifies her risk-taking side that is open to risk and danger. Notably, she chooses to return to the ocean with Irving, not with Nathaniel, illustrating which man she trusts to see, and appreciate, all sides of her personality.
The Elixir
In its ability to help a person clarify and comprehend their feelings, Esther’s elixir symbolizes the larger themes of self-awareness and transformation. One function the elixir serves is to highlight the bond between Esther’s fate and Augusta’s. Both lose the men they love as a consequence of administering the elixir—or at least, that is how they see it. In response, both turn toward their work instead of hopes of romance.
The secret ingredient of the elixir—the mysterious clover—represents the mystery and rarity of Esther’s abilities. It also signifies the way this knowledge has been handed down, undocumented and privately held, among women of certain families and communities. It is thus a symbol of heritage as well as of the power of healing. Ironically, while the elixir Augusta intends to administer to Irving in both cases ends up being consumed by Nathaniel, the elixir performs its function by helping Augusta admit her feelings. This is further proof that her character has progressed to the point where she is ready to acknowledge and get in touch with the influences and the passions of her past, which she has long denied.
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