Transformations Question #29

Of what symbolic importance is the ball in "The Frog Prince"?

I think the symbolic importance of the ball is vanity and the loss of a materialistic object. The princess in this poem describes herself as "quite adorable", which makes me assume that in that ball she reflects her beauty and her vanity; she is torn down when she realizes that the ball has sunken and will not be able to keep admiring the precious ball in which she reflects her beauty.  The princess also expresses her loss in metaphors--her moon, her butter calf, her yellow moth, and her Hindu hare. She explains how the ball would not be for sale in Au Bon Marche, and it is clearly stated how the ball meant very much to her. She is royalty and we could say she lived in abundance of gold, jewelry, and much wealth. She cared for her materialistic objects and the loss of her ball was one of her whims. Sexton possibly felt that her vanity was based on what she owned or had and realized that maybe for once she could give in to something ugly and worthless. After that, she discovered that beyond appearances and worrying for worthless objects, that life is more than what the eye sees.