The Almond Tree Symbol Analysis

The almond tree that blooms at the end of The Canterville Ghost symbolizes unlikely beginnings. Almond trees don’t really grow in England: they’re more adapted to hotter climates in the Mediterranean. So, it’s no real surprise that the Canterville’s almond tree has gone barren for so long. Its blooming, however, is surprising. As stated in the prophesy inscribed on Canterville Chase’s library window, the blooming almond tree signals Sir Simon’s final passing into eternal rest, thereby suddenly ending his three-hundred-year reign as the ghost of Canterville Chase. Now that Sir Simon has passed on, the blood-stained reminder of his crimes has been erased, and the aristocracy have vacated Canterville Chase, a new generation of people can come into power. This generation, marked by Virginia’s marriage to the Duke of Cheshire, is literally able to marry American egalitarianism with the better aspects of the British aristocracy—that is, they’re able to get around all of the stubborn struggles of the past and move forward together.