Scarf
The scarf as a recurring image of intimate textile residue: a personal garment that holds the speaker's bodily presence (scent, warmth) and remains in the partner's possession after the relationship ends. In Taylor's writing the scarf operates on multiple registers simultaneously: as memento, as possible trophy, and (drawing on the May Day tradition of red scarves marking purity or its loss) as a metaphor for innocence given and not returned. The image's force comes from its persistence: the partner cannot dismiss what he still keeps.
The scarf stands in for the speaker's most intimate self in the partner's continued possession (scent, warmth, innocence) proof that the relationship was real even as the partner tries to dismiss it. Whether kept as memento or trophy, the scarf is evidence the speaker can point to from outside the relationship. The May Day red-scarf tradition adds a register of sexual innocence given and not returned, making the kept scarf doubly accusatory.
Appears in 1 song
“And I left my scarf there at your sister's house And you've still got it in your drawer, even now”
The scarf as a personal article that carries multiple symbolic registers: a memento or trophy of the relationship, a symbol of innocence/virginity, and a metaphor for intimacy. Uncle Jerry asks whether it's kept as a memento or a trophy. Both Angela & Uncle Jerry discuss the scarf as a potential metaphor for virginity/innocence, citing traditional May Day celebrations where girls wear red scarves as symbols of purity.