I just got back from a short vacation, and couldn't follow the group read during that time, so I don't know whether this subject has been posted already. If so, please ignore it.

There was an earlier discussion about the symbolism during the Sotherton outing concerning the gate and the key, etc.

I find a similar use of symbolism with the necklaces and the cross Fanny gets as presents.
She gets the cross from William and then a necklace from Mary (whereby the necklace was a present from Henry - so it's really from Henry) and a necklace from Edmund.

I looked up the symbolic meaning of a cross:

"the basic shape of a cross, has since prehistoric times
been employed in almost every culture throughout the
world and all the roughly similar shapes of cross
symbols have wildly different meanings.
the cross variously symbolised health, fertility, life,
immortality, the union of heaven and earth, spirit and
matter, the sun, the stars... it is seen a world centre and
a cosmic axis, the cross represents the human form,
with its four cardinal points it can be mapped to fourfold
systems: the four directions: north, south, east, and west;
the 4 seasons; the four elements; the four winds..."

I'm not quite sure how to interpret the meaning of this, or if there is any.

But I find it very interesting, that when Fanny tries to fit Henry's necklace through the cross it doesn't fit, but Edmund's necklace fits.