The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom and liberty. This can be seen in her portrayal as a woman, with one arm outstretched to welcome others and the other holding a torch to illuminate their way. The statue also has several other things in common with America's founding fathers.
The artist, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, was inspired by the idea of freedom when he designed the statue. He felt that "the most beautiful thing is for us to have no limits." The idea of being "boundless" inspired him to create a figure that is so large that it cannot be contained by any boundary—including physical ones such as water or land. In this way, he was able to depict the idea of freedom as limitless power and possibility rather than just literal freedom from imprisonment or oppression (which would have been more common at the time).
In addition, Bartholdi modeled his statue after the Roman goddess Libertas—who represents liberty itself—and also after his own mother (who is thought to be buried under Lady Liberty's feet). This shows how important it was for him personally to honor both women who were important in his life while also representing their values through his art.
(remember to find and cite sources to quoted text. i use the jstor website)
