Symbolism in "eve's Bayou"

Throughout the entire movie, glass is prominently featured in the film. Glass and mirrors represent guilt and wrong doing. We can see glass and mirrors in the backgrounds of scenes and at several times we see a character’s reflection in them. Whenever we see glass, whether it is wine glasses, liquor bottles, or mirrors, there will always be wrongdoing, guilt, or a secret or truth being exposed.

In the opening scene of the movie, the main characters are seen carrying glass. At the party, Eve, Poe, and Cisely are serving champagne out of glasses. At the same time this is happening, Louis is dancing with Mrs. Monroe to the on-look of Roz and Mr. Ronroe. They dance in a seductive manner and it is not to the appeal of Roz and Mr. Monroe. The way the two dance suggest that there is something going on between them. This turns out to be true. This affair is the most prominent in the film and leads to Louis’s death. After they dance Louis looks to Cisely, who is holding a tray of glasses, and asks her to dance with him. Louis then hands the glasses to Eve. Cisely is longing the attention of her father and now she gets to dance with him. Cisely’s desire for her father is one of the main problems in the film. Eve becomes extremely jealous.

Glass being broken equates to someone or something being exposed. In the scene with Louis and Mrs. Monroe in the shed, Eve notices them and simultaneously, a glass bottle breaks. Louis is caught having an affair with his wife, which was bottled up. Once the bottle breaks, it signifies them being exposed. Not only do we witness the one glass bottle breaking but we also see a number of glass bottles in the foreground. At the end of the film, almost the exact same scene is duplicated.

Deception and manipulation of the truth happens in front of mirrors. When Eve tells Cisely about what she saw in the shed, there is a glass mirror in the background. Once Eve finishes telling Ciscely about what happened Cisely manipulates Eve’s story to make Eve believe what she really saw was not the truth. Again, we see Cisely’s display of affection for her father. She makes it seem as though Louis does nothing wrong. Cisely even makes light of the situation by saying, “You scared me.” The film exposes another truth when glass is broken. When Roz and Mozell go to get their fortunes told, Mozell gets called a curse. Mozell then yells and throws the glass money jar to the floor and it breaks. Again, the concept of broken glass means that the truth has been exposed. This time it is Mozell being exposed for being a black widow and that anyone she marries will die. The audience was not aware that Mozell was in fact cursed. This is solidified by the glass being broken. Guilt is subliminally hinted by Eve to Roz. When the family is having a meal at the table, there is the presence of wine glasses. At the end of the meal, Louis says that he has patients to see, to the objection of Roz. The grandmother has a rant