The Housemaid's Wedding

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

As Millie waits outside the room where she will be married, she feels her daughter kick inside her womb for the first time. This moment serves as a reminder of the true reason for Millie’s wedding day: to start a new life and family with Enzo, standing in contrast to her obsession with perfection throughout the story. Their unborn daughter symbolizes the new life that Millie and Enzo will build. As she waits to get married, Millie thinks, “[T]his is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me, although that may move to second place when our daughter is born” (55). Ultimately, their unborn daughter conveys the theme of The Enduring Power of Love. Millie finally begins to recognize that Enzo and their new baby are the things that truly matter, allowing her to both literally and figuratively start a new life with Enzo. The baby also acts as a symbol of forward motion; where Millie has been haunted by past trauma, the child becomes a physical manifestation of hope and healing. That the kick occurs in a liminal space, just before the ceremony, highlights the symbolic bridge between her past and her new beginning.