Black and White

[PeterRabitt20]

It seemed to me she wanted to simplify her life by wearing black. She probably got tired of having to make choices. However, all-white furniture is very daring. I don't know she kept everything clean. Kudos to her!

[Vivian Jabeya]

Lena wears black because she is holding on to her past. She is haunted by the painful experiences that Joey made her to go through and her mistakes as a mother. I think that her appartment is painted white to signify change and hope for a better future.

[Shirley-Tome]

In my opinion, Lena probably chose black as her go-to colour for her clothes as she felt so lonely after what she endured in her marriage and losing her sons. With black, she does not have to keep making choices on what wear. It might be easier for her that way. Her white apartment is a stark difference to what she chooses to wear. Maybe she likes white?

[car-mbz]

I think Lena wears black to signify her mourning for her sons and the white color on her walls signify her neatness.

[iammiape]

Lena wears black all of the time, yet everything in her apartment is white. I think she wears the black because of the son she lost, and because of estrangement of her other sons; and I think the white signifies hope that one day her other sons will want to be a family again. That is what my thoughts are on this. What are your thoughts? Why does she wear black and why is everything in her apartment white? I would love to hear some more ideas on that!

I agree that she had worn black for consecutive years because her two sons died, since she mentioned this to Maureen. However, I don't think that her white apartment signified hope, rather, it represents her life (before Kalayla came in)—colorless and lifeless. It could also be that she isn't motivated to put another color just like she's uninterested to put more things in her almost empty apartment.

[Brenda Creech]

Lena wears black all of the time, yet everything in her apartment is white. I think she wears the black because of the son she lost, and because of estrangement of her other sons; and I think the white signifies hope that one day her other sons will want to be a family again. That is what my thoughts are on this. What are your thoughts? Why does she wear black and why is everything in her apartment white? I would love to hear some more ideas on that!

I agree that she had worn black for consecutive years because her two sons died, since she mentioned this to Maureen. However, I don't think that her white apartment signified hope, rather, it represents her life (before Kalayla came in)—colorless and lifeless. It could also be that she isn't motivated to put another color just like she's uninterested to put more things in her almost empty apartment.

Excellent analogy and things I had not thought of!

[Mys_Trea]

I think the wearing of black was just a symbol of the loss and grief that she suffered in her life. Her apartment being all white signified her reluctance to move on and give the place a homey feel. The white signified some detachment, and refusal to move on from her past hurts.

[zayyyna]

lena wearing black makes sense in way , that she had no colours of joy in her life as she lost every precious thing she had in her life whether its her twins who died or the husband who she never understand . the white walls may be a hope for her that someday she again have colours in her life and waiting for them is why she had everything in white .

[Michelle Menezes]

I think she wears black because she lost her sons, so somewhere she is still mourning them. I also feel that she regrets her life because she feels there's a lot she could have done for her children but didn't due to her fear of her husband.
In case of the white apartment, I don't think there is a reason for that. She probably just likes it that way.

[Nathaniel Owolabi]

I do agree with you on why she wears black. But as for the white color of her room, I think she just wanted to be as simple as possible, and what is more simple than white?

[Kaushiki Parihar]

In my opinion, her black clothes represent the death of her husband and twin sons, whereas her white apartment represents her colorless life. However, when Kalayla came into her life, she started to change. Her life was beginning to fill with colors. Her colorful blouses were a prominent example of that.

[Mason Garrod]

Black symbolises the perpetual mourning she's been in ever since the tragedies in her past, but in the context of her living areas, white walls suggest blankness and emptiness, like she has very little to define herself or express herself by now. Over the course of the novel, she grows to find new purpose and finding her identity again

[Nivedita BookBee]

I think the white of her walls signifies that she has left space and a canvas of her life blank to fill it with colors again even though she's suffering and wearing black like it's the darkness of her life. She's hopeful and white signifies that, her strength and her will.

[Clare Jose]

Even while I knew about Lena wearing black all the time and her apartment being all white, I never thought about what it could have symbolised. Now that I think about it, I agree with most of you. The black must have symbolised her grief. As for the white in her apartment, I felt like the white may have symbolised hope or a fresh start(which she may have subconsciously wanted). But I also felt like she did not want to leave traces of her herself or her personality. Like she wasn't ready for that new start.

[Janet Kimetto]

I understood the black but didn't give much thought to her all-white apartment. One could argue that black and white are not colors but shades. Maybe those two just signified the lack of color in her life?