Ind Aff

Princip’s footprints symbolize the unhappy and imbalanced relationship between the narrator and Peter. “Ind Aff” opens with a description of rain filling up the footsteps of Princip at the place where he assassinated the Archduke and his wife. This precipitation, visually muddying the representation of Princip’s patriotism, suggests that the professor is not able to see their relationship clearly. The fact that the protagonist says that they are “clear enough” foreshadows her coming to see the unfortunate truth of their romance. Their disagreement highlights Gendered Power Imbalances in Love, since Peter does not acknowledge the narrator’s opinions about the footprints.

A pepper comes with the appetizer of salad that the protagonist and her lover are served. The pepper is a symbol for the sexual aspect of their relationship, which is also the superficial level or appetizer of their relationship. While removing seeds from his pepper, Peter “part[s] the flesh of the soft orangey-red pepper” (Paragraph 20). This description invokes an erotic image of spreading a vulva. Peter’s attention to detail regarding the pepper suggest that he is talented sexually, yet he consumes the pepper, reflecting his objectification of the