Politics of Symbolising Female Characters in Paulo Coelho’s By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho’s works are generally known for inspiring readers and using literary symbols to narrate complex philosophical concepts. Out of the seventeen works of Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept describes the conflicts faced by two lovers who are brought together by fate after eleven years. Re-joined, they set out for an excursion together as the issues in their relationship emerge again. Though Coelho explicitly uses water as a literary symbol in the novel, this paper closely analyses how the female characters in the same novel are also symbolised, making them symbols of self-submission. It thereby probes the complexity of the connection between female characters and water as literary symbols within the same context.