Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
And here you thought it was only a famous landmark.
But according to Dan Brown, the Eiffel Tower is the perfect symbol for France:
Symbologists often remarked that France –a country renowned for machismo, womanizing, and diminutive insecure leaders like Napoleon and Pepin the Short – could not have chosen a more apt national emblem than a thousand-foot phallus. (3.16)
Well, we think it's a bit unfair to characterize France in such a negative context (come on, it's the same place that came up with the croissant and the language of love), but it is a fair point. The Eiffel Tower is more phallic than a banana, rocket ship, and those suspicious-looking towers from the cover of The Little Mermaid combined.