Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Lena's beautiful on the outside—we get that—but her paintings help her express her beauty on the inside. The creative process is frustrating, though, and she tries so hard to capture Caldera's beauty on canvas but feels like there is "no light in her paint" (4.1). Since painting represents Lena's interior life, does that mean she feels like there is no light in her heart?
Lena is particularly drawn to painting an "exquisite little arbor" (8.43) lined with a grove of olive trees that have "glinting silver-green leaves" and olives that are "still babies" (8.43). This special place is filled with beauty and innocence, just like Lena. How do we know she's innocent? Because she leaps to negative assumptions about Kostos when he happens upon her skinny dipping, instead of pausing for a moment to consider the bigger picture. It's the maneuver of an immature person, someone who is perhaps more innocent than they realize.
Despite the mess Lena makes with her incorrect conclusions and lies, she continues to paint, and after some time passes, she returns to the olive grove. The olives have "grown fatter—they were teenagers now" (20.2), and Lena seems to have grown as well, since she sees this special place differently. She examines her painting through "critical, earthbound eyes" (20.3) and realizes the mistakes she has made—and when this happens, we see that Lena is willing to open herself up, to think critically about herself and her actions, and also to share herself with others.
Now Lena wants to make things right with Kostos, to apologize and let him know that she has a crush on him—so she decides to give him "her best painting" (20.5) as an apology and an expression of her love. When Lena nervously offers Kostos her creation, he accepts it eagerly, saying, "I want it" (23.70), which Lena takes as her cue to trust Kostos.
For the first time, she lets herself fall for a guy, and when Kostos accepts the painting and kisses Lena, it's as if a spell is broken. Everyone has always seen Lena's outward beauty, but for the first time, she's mature enough to let her inner beauty shine as well.