44 pages • 1-hour read
Out on a Limb
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Symbols & Motifs
Win’s Plants
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
Win’s houseplants begin as a symbol of her unexpressed need for nurture and companionship and, by the end, signify her personality quirks and interests. Initially, Win chose the houseplants to add cheer and life to her living space, the apartment where she landed after her breakup with Jack and from which she hasn’t yet moved on. The apartment’s general shabbiness, not entirely disguised by the plants, symbolizes the holding pattern that Win’s life is in, as she’s still vulnerable from this relationship that turned sour.
Sarah and Caleb show their care for Win by helping her with her plants when they assist in her move to Bo’s house. Bo’s joke about the sheer quantity of plants emphasizes how badly she needed cheering in her old apartment and life, and they are also a sign of the abundance entering Bo’s life. When he builds a greenhouse for Win near the end of the book, this gesture is an extension of his wish to take care of and please her, and it shows that he understands and supports her interests. The Bonus Epilogue that describes their wedding uses the setting of the garden to demonstrate this nurturing part of Win’s character, adds to the romantic atmosphere, and uses images of growth and abundance to symbolize their love.
Twenty Questions to Fall in Love
The card game in the gift basket that Sarah gives to Win and Bo foreshadows their coming attachment, which will include romantic love. Gifting the game is one way in which Sarah and Caleb, as representatives of a happily committed couple, act as mentors and guides for Win and Bo. The questions also serve to deepen the protagonists’ knowledge of and attraction to one another, adding to their emotional connection.
The first question, which they address on their first night of cohabiting, is a relatively innocent one that results in a conversation revealing their shared values. Neither wishes for celebrity, but both wish for a way to have influence and make useful contributions to a field. The latter question about a memorable sexual experience creates an important moment of emotional vulnerability. While Win can easily speak of her pregnancy as making their sexual encounter memorable, Bo’s response indicates that their night together was equally important to him and for similar reasons. These discussions provide a foundation for their developing love affair. When they continue to use the questions to spark discussions well after they’ve gone through the deck, this indicates that Win and Bo’s relationship is on solid ground. Thus, the game delivers on its premise of making them fall in love.
Joanna’s Records
The vinyl records, which are initially an example of the understated décor of Bo’s place, develop a symbolic meaning as Win comes to understand more about Bo’s mother, whose records they are. Bo’s father and mother connected as musicians, and this was a career they shared during their marriage. Joanna’s musical taste ranged from Ella Fitzgerald to Frank Sinatra. Bo’s appreciation for these classics reveals that he is a man of good taste, musically and otherwise, and an emotionally attuned person, as the records hold sentimental value following his mother’s death.
While Robert, Bo’s father, has the chance to meet and approve of Win, Joanna’s records are a way that she helps to bring the protagonists together. Listening to her music becomes part of their shared domestic routine and leads to the dance in the living room, a moment of emotional vulnerability and attraction. Naming their third daughter Joanna shows the couple paying tribute to Bo’s mother and the ways she helped bring them together, not just with her music but also with the way the memory box that Robert kept for Bo inspired Bo to create his memory box for August and Win. Him sharing that memory box confirms to Win that Bo truly wants a life together.
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