his family Symbol of Motherhood and Desire The elms are compared to exhausted women resting their sagging breasts and hands and hair on its roof This image gives the trees a human and motherly form It reminds us of Eben s dead mother who still seems to live in the house At the same time their bending branches reflect Abbie s dark passion and her desire for love under the heavy rule of Cabot Symbol of Fate and Tragedy The elm trees never move they seem to guard and watch They represent the unchanging fate that controls the Cabot family Their shadow covers every event from Abbie s sin to Eben s revenge and their tragic end The elms are like the silent hands of destiny Thus the elm trees are not mere background objects They symbolize motherhood desire and oppression They watch over human sin and sorrow They make the farmhouse a place of beauty guilt and tragedy