What is the significance of the unicorn?
When Deckard leaves his apartment with Rachael at the end of the film, she knocks over an origami unicorn, probably left there by Gaff. The voiceover speculates that the unicorn was simply a message to Deckard to say “I know you’ve got Rachael, but I’ll let her live.” The unicorn is the last of a series of origami figures that Gaff uses to taunt Deckard. In Bryant’s office when Deckard insists he’s retired, Gaff folds a chicken: “You’re afraid to do it”. Later he makes a man with an erection: “You’ve got the hots for her”. And finally, the unicorn: “You’re dreaming, you can run away with her, but she won’t live” (he says basically the same thing to Deckard on the rooftop). A unicorn has long been the symbol of virginity and purity (being white), which ties in with Rachel’s status. Legend states that only a virgin could capture a unicorn. Unicorns are extinct, and Gaff may think the same of Rachael, as she definitely has a limited lifespan. A unicorn was used in Tennessee Williams’ “The
