Raina is often seen clutching a romantic novel—but, crucially, she is rarely reading it. She uses the books rather like props. They once again indicate shallowness and social performance. That Raina neglects to actually read these novels perhaps suggests the fall of romanticism itself: these books are not truly useful or interesting to her anymore, and she grows beyond them by the end of the play.
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Raina’s Novels Symbol Timeline in Arms and the Man
The timeline below shows where the symbol Raina’s Novels appears in Arms and the Man. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
...never be unworthy of him anymore, and calling him her “soul’s hero.” She selects a novel from a pile of books by her bed and opens it, preparing to read herself...
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Act 3
...newspaper. Raina is relaxing on a divan under a window, staring outside with a neglected novel in her lap.
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