While Brewster’s scarring and bruises are a result of the physical pain he takes from others, they also symbolize the emotional pain and abuse from which he suffers. As Brontë confronts him about his new bruises, he points to each bruise on his body and names who it came from. Brontë thinks how “he seemed to know where every single injury had come from—maybe not how or when, but he always knew who” (299-300). This idea reflects the symbolic nature of his bruises, as they are more than just marks of physical injury; rather, they are a culmination of both the physical and emotional pain that he has endured for those he has grown to care about. Brontë makes the realization that “the cost of friendship was exacted in flesh” (300). In other words, he has gained friendship with her help, but in return the emotional burden of those friendships has physically damaged his body.

This symbolism conveys the theme of The Complications of Empathy. While it is a positive thing to show empathy, these symbolic scars on Brewster’s body also reveal the risk that too much empathy can damage one’s own life. Because of his ability, he is unable to pick and choose which emotions or how much he takes from people; instead, he becomes a “black hole” (108) of emotion for all of those he cares about.