What does Fire represent?

Fire symbolizes witchcraft and ritual power. When Alex suggests that the family celebrate Walpurgis, he believes that he will be able to harness the symbolism of the bonfire to help Hanna process through her witch alter-ego. However, Hanna sees this differently: “It was so clear in her mind. In two days Daddy would build a fire and sing his ode to spring. Hanna would place her drawing of Marie-Anne on the flames, where it would curl and blacken and disappear. And then she’d toss the bits of Mommy like confetti into the fire” (217). Hanna’s final attack on Suzette is spurred on by her belief in fire as an accelerant to her supernatural powers.