A jar of opaquely clouded water
Harrison forces himself into Stella’s apartment and threatens her with the knowledge about her lover. The descriptions of his threatening presence and Stella’s struggle to keep her composure are disturbing. At one instance she thinks to herself that his mind must be a jar of opaquely clouded water in which the strangest fish might be contained. It is a metaphor to describe her fear of his mental instability and her not wanting to provoke his reaction.
The hub of imaginary life
The knowledge of having the estate of Mount Morris affected Roderick deeply. He became attached to the house even prior to his arrival there. The house became a symbol of possibilities, it became a hub of his imaginary life.
Unknown dead face in the dark
After Stella finally tells Robert about her suspicions, his reaction leaves her extremely uneasy. He confronts her with mistrust and lack of love, and falls unusually silent. Stella feels herself panic and feels as if she stumbled on an unknown dead face in the dark with her fingers. The fear doesn’t only come from his reaction, but of the truth finally revealed and the possible consequences of it.
A thinning of the membrane
An important theme explored in the novel is the theme of love. It is about love during the difficult times of war. The war is described as a thinning of the membrane between "the this" and "the that" in the sense of the universality of love and the same causes and effects of it throughout history.
