In Virginia Woolf’s short story “The Duchess and the Jeweller,” she writes about a jeweler and his unique relationship with the people around him. The jeweler is tricked by the Duchess into buying phony pearls; this guile was brought about by his desire to be loved. Woolf greatly projects the theme of the pursuit of love by utilizing symbols of greed, desire, and deceit.
Symbols of greed protrude from the story from the very beginning; moreover, Oliver symbolizes avarice. Woolf writes that Oliver scrutinizes his “legs, so shapely in their perfect trousers” (540). Oliver is unhappy with his legs, which symbolize his entire physical estate; he is displeased with his current possessions and seeks extra wealth. In the same way, Oliver “snuffed always [for] another truffle” (541). This truffle is an evident symbol of a better opportunity; Oliver is restless with his money and lifestyle: he is always in pursuit of more. “[Though he had won his bet,” Woolf writes, he is still dissatisfied (541). This bet is a symbol of his early desires to become the best; however, even when he becomes peerless, he still yearns for greater luxury.
Woolf asserts many symbols of desire into her short story. Mademoiselle is a glaring example of symbolism; Oliver reminisces how she “married Mr. Peddar of the local brewery” (541). She is a symbol is his lost loves and ambitions-he used to be happy; but now he wanders for satisfaction. While Oliver is in the back of his shop, he looks through all the valuables in his safes. While he is gazing, he is interrupted as “the telephone buzzed obsequiously in a low muted voice” (541). This buzzing is symbolic of Oliver’s unstoppable nagging that he is miserable even while he revels in his achievements. In his undying pursuit of love, he writes the “cheque for twenty thousand pounds” (543). He is trying to woo the Duchess’s daughter, so he blindly writes this check-a symbol of his desire. ...