Thank you so much for reading and for asking, Adelaide. I suspect most writers are quite happy to entertain questions about their stories and I’m no exception.
I settled on
Ephemera as a title for multiple reasons, among them:
Primarily for its relationship to the adjective ephemeral, particularly as it is commonly used in “the ephemeral nature of life.” The rhetorical question is asked at the end, “Is life more than a breath?” I had in view several Biblical passages that reference how fleeting our lives are. Psalm 90:4-6 for example,
“A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered."
For the more modern reference to a collection of memorabilia with little inherent value. Sometimes ephemera of this type--like theatre ticket stubs--are kept because of the memories they prompt. Since this story is comprised of a collection of short vignettes or memories, it seemed a suitable connotation.
As a summary for Darcy’s experience. The time he spends in Elizabeth’s room actually reflecting is very brief--no more than an hour, I would imagine. He remembers, he reflects, he draws conclusions and then he carries on with his life. The whole experience, no matter how profound or how it may change him, is transitory and passing.
I hope this makes sense and helps a little. I didn’t choose the title to directly apply the dictionary definition, but more obliquely--for the various associations one may squeeze from it.
(Normally, I compile replies into a single post after a couple of days, but I thought if other readers have the same question, it might be useful to know sooner than later.)
~ Renée