The Glassmaker

Dolphins are a significant motif in the novel. Once Antonio leaves Venice, he communicates with Orsola by sporadically sending her small dolphin figurines made of glass, and this pattern persists over the centuries. It is eventually revealed that Antonio’s descendants carry on this tradition for many generations, even though they have long since forgotten the reason for it. In the final section of the novel, which is set during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and 2021, Orsola also alludes to a falsified photo that seemingly depicts dolphins in the canals of Venice. However, after the initial, fake photo, dolphins were indeed spotted and filmed in a rare sighting in central Venice. The motif of dolphins therefore represents joy and hope during difficult times. 

After Antonio leaves Venice, he and Orsola never see one another again, and by sending her glass dolphins, he wordlessly expresses his ongoing love for her. There is no real chance that Antonio and Orsola will reunite, but the dolphins memorialize his emotional connection to Venice, even after he has been ostracized from it. Because the dolphins are made of glass, they represent Orsola’s vocation and family history in Murano, but the figure of the dolphin itself symbolizes Antonio’s legacy as the son of a fisherman and his strong ties to the water.