On some graves, a stone column is deliberately carved as if snapped clean off, before reaching its normal height. What does this symbol mean?
The answer
The broken column symbolises a life cut short before its natural end, most often that of someone who died young. The larger the missing portion appears, the shorter the life is meant to have been.
This question belongs to the “Symbols and Allegories” series of the Père-Lachaise quiz: ten questions, a story behind every right answer.