Recurrent imagery?

As I approached 10k, I noticed I was referencing certain images in places throughout the story. Water is an example; it plays an important part in some of my narrater's dreams, and as he tells the story, sometimes he uses water as a metaphor.

Ex. "I believe that throughout all of existence, energy exists within and in between particles like an infinite, invisible ocean."

"It was like I was a droplet of ink into water."

"For the second time, I was merely a bruise in the sea of pure, limitless life. And for the second time, though I was done with the world, the world wasn’t done with me."

Anyone else noticing any recurrent imagery, either intentional or incidental?

I keep having certain items pop up through my story, does that count?

Opera, especially Carmen, after neither of my MCs had professed an interest in music - it just seems to fit. Musical metaphors abound. Also Classical mythology.

I didn't intend for it to pop up so much, but the color red keeps appearing. Once I noticed it's prevalence, I decided to consciously make it an important motif. The same thing has unintentionally started happening with the color pink.

I intended for pretty much everything; I have *clearing throat*:
-Newspapers (the most important)
-Biblical references
-Shakespeare references
-Weather
-Pocket watches
-Clocks (separate from pocket watches for a reason)
-There are more, I just can't remember them in my current foggy dazed state.

It's a lot, but it all adds in a way that's too important to leave out. Without being pretentious (so far), which I'm proud of.

The most prominent one is the mirror.

My project is all about quantum reality and perceptual tricks, so there's a lot of talk about mirror images and opposites. Not only are there a lot of mirrors in the pubs and shops, but there are a lot of mirror-related themes. There's the Narcissus myth, amino acid chirality, canonic variation in Renaissance music, and palindromes. Next my MMC and FMC are off to the art gallery to see Manet's painting "Bar at the Folies-Bergere," which is another mirror-image trick.

-Shem

This is a trend I've noticed in older stuff I've written (a nivel and at least two or three of my short stories), and it comes up in the novel I'm working on now, without my actually intending it to - hand trauma. Injuries to characters' hands or arms/wrists must be a fixation/fear for me.

I've mentioned flowers a lot, especially azaleas, and I'm not sure why. I don't even know the meaning of azaleas, I just love the word. Fire's been mentioned a few times, I believe.

The most recurring image is that of a "monster," though. I've been toying with the idea that my MC believes there's a monster living "inside" of her, mocking her and trying to get her to do bad things to herself, and she has a love/hate relationship with him -- and she's unsure (and so am I) if the monster is her ex-boyfriend, her father, or God. From this, she believes that she's a monster too; it's really just a bunch of mental anguish.

Time and food keeps returning. Time I expected, but the recurring mentions of food I did not – especially all the sweet fruits.

Masks.

The company (Thanks to the name my... thread) is called 'Facade Security', there's a masquerade ball, one of the main characters wears a holographic disguise to look like someone else. One of my female characters wears lots of make-up that's described as being like a mask. It keeps coming up. I'm not sure what the meaning is though.

Then there's the recurrent imagery of spying, windows, glass, mirrors, crystal. reflective surfaces. I seem to be concerned with appearances a lot. Though I don't describe many of the main characters in detail at all. :S

Art is coming up a lot, especially the impressionist period. It was a complete surprise to me, but I'm kind of happy about it and think I'll work it in more in the second draft.

And propriety. I knew there'd be a theme of my MC vs propriety in upper class society, but it's working its way in WAY more than I expected it to. I'm thinking it's overkill, but now my MC looks like she's going to start rebelling against it out of sheer frustration.

Ceilings. My MC is obsessed with ceilings.

It sure seems to rain a lot.

The color white, churches, and tuna fish sandwiches.

And windows. Giant windows.

My accidental-on-purpose motif has turned out to be the colour blue. Which, since I'm writing in French, also means 'bruise'. It turned out rather well! ;D

I really like the tuna sandwiches idea. And the hand injuries one is really interesting...

The phrase "this is the business" recurs every time my characters calm each other down. Other recurring imagery and lynchpins: dusty old barns, the bare branches of trees, blood, broken glass, the stone floor of Richard's cottage, the oak table in Cal's kitchen.

I keep having breaking windows (in the novel, that is) and broken glass.

I have a slight obsession with flowers... Snow is another because I am preparing for a white Christmas...

Water. Everywhere. Just all similes are to do with water and the sea. At first it was symbolic because it was from the POV of a sailor. Then it switched POV and the water theme continued. I can't get rid of it now.

In my experience, symbolic imagery needs to just happen. Occasionally there's something significant that I plan to weave throughout the narrative, but generally my imagery is incidental.