Cake

"without hesitation, picks up the cake and tips it from its milk-glass platter into the garbage can. It lands with a surprisingly solid sound; a yellow rose is smeared along the can's curved side." (112)

The cake is a symbol of domestication. She wanted to create a cake that was a piece of art like Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. Her son made the cake with her and limited her creativity. When she throws the cake away the yellow rose is ruined. Flowers represent life in this novel and yellow is a content color. Laura's obligation to her son and husband are causing her discontent and suppress life.