The metaphor of the rose is prominent in García Márquez’s short story. But other tangible objects seem to operate metaphorically. Specifically, items like the fan seem to represent supernatural forces. Even though they seem grounded in tangibility, the illusions that they produce, of air motion and shadows, are larger than the object itself might suggest. These reverberations literally give air a heightened sense of importance within the text.

Paper birds and paper butterflies also operate as metaphors, particularly in their trajectories. They mimic a real, living object, but the story traces them back to their creators and shows them to be harmless objects. At the same time, they seem to represent efforts at freedom. Freedom, especially freedom from death, becomes impossible: the birds sink to the ground when they lose the currents or illusions of air.

The butterfly is a little bit different, just like Sanchez: it blends into the wallpaper and has a different kind of end. But ultimately, no one knows where it come from or where it went. Like Sanchez, the butterfly seems to die and its life and name “won’t even be left” for the next generation to understand (Paragraph 31).