This is a very fine distinction which seems to be the conclusion of an abstract discussion. We would probably need to read a lot of previous text to understand the point that the writer is trying to convey.

This might help, read it first: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Kristeva#The_.22semiotic.22_and_the_.22symbolic.22 "One of Kristeva's most important contributions is that signification is composed of two elements, the symbolic and the semiotic.... In Desire in Language (1980), Kristeva describes the symbolic as the space in which the development of language allows the child to become a "speaking subject," and to develop a sense of identity separate from the mother. This process of separation is known as abjection, whereby the child must reject and move away from the mother in order to enter into the world of language, culture, meaning, and the social. This realm of language is called the symbolic and is contrasted with the semiotic in that it is associated with the masculine, the law, and structure. Kristeva departs from Lacan in the idea that even after entering the symbolic, the subject continues to oscillate between the semiotic and the symbolic. Therefore, rather than arriving at a fixed identity, the subject is permanently "in process". Because female children continue to identify to some degree with the mother figure, they are especially likely to retain a close connection to the semiotic."

"Symbolic" is an ordinary word used in everyday speech. "Semiotic" is a word which many native speakers don't know. It is the name of a branch of philosophy or linguistics. It is a word like "semantics" and "epistemology." I recognize the words "semiotics," "semantics," and "epistemology" but I couldn't give good definitions of any of them. They are technical words, and you are reading an advanced academic work. It is common for people to invent specialized technical words, and also to take ordinary words and give them a specialized technical meaning. To a physicist "work" means "the product of force times distance." To a mathematician, "group" means "elements and an operation that satisfies the conditions of closure, associativity, identity and invertibility." To a financial economist, "risk" means "the standard deviation of the monthly returns of an asset." I have no doubt at all that your writer is using the word "symbolic" in some very technical sense. You are not going to find a clear answer in an ordinary dictionary. Usually, if you flip backwards and scan the text leading up to that passage you will find that the writer either states a definition somewhere, or indicates a source for her usage. In this case, I found your source and skimmed it: https://151fantasyfiction.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/files/2011/12/feminist-criticism.pdf The chief clue is the sentence you actually quoted. The writer expect her readers to know the work of Julia Kristeva and Jacque Lacan. If you really want to understand what you are reading, you probably should dig up and glance at "Desire in Language."