Death
Death is significant in the novel. The death of David Parkin’s father leaves him with a fortune at a young age. It also leaves him with no family. Worried that his wealth influences people to like him for the wrong reasons, David does not get married until he is in his thirties.
Death touches his life again when his daughter, Andrea is killed in a fire when she is only three. This sense of loss is one he can barely withstand. He needs the support of his wife, Mary Anne, to help give him the strength to carry on with his life.
These deaths affect David Parkin’s life in different ways. One leaves him with hope for the future while the other leaves him wanting to only dwell in the past where is daughter is still with him. It shows how death can affect our lives in many different ways.
Abandonment
David Parkin feels a sense of abandonment when his mother leaves him and his father. When his father dies, David is contacted by his mother and believes that they can reconnect and become a family. She once again abandons him to run off to Chicago after taking money from him. This abandonment leaves him wary of relationships with women and he struggles to have a connection with any woman in his life. He sees Mary Anne as someone who has also been abandoned so feels a connection to her. She has no one in her life after the death of her parents and has been living on her own. Mary Anne has been abandoned by her fiancé who left her once he found out she was pregnant.
In their mutual feelings of abandonment, Mary Anne and David find a common ground. They understand the other’s pain and feel a connection to one another. Their love makes them strong enough to strive forward no matter the hurts that they have suffered in the past.
Time
Time is important in the novel. David Parkin collects clocks. His home and office are full of clocks and therefore the passage of time is always noted. The loud commotion they make on the quarter hour cannot be missed. Time is everlasting and will always be present throughout eternity. It is immortal and one cannot possess it even with as many clocks as Parkin’s collects. Time is the one thing that people cannot touch or change.
Prejudice
Prejudice leads to many misfortunes in the novel. Lawrence Flake is an accomplished horologist and war veteran, but many cannot see past his skin color. David Parkin counts him among his friends and attempts to protect the man by taking responsibility for the death of Mr. Hat He knows that Lawrence will not get a fair trial because he is African American. This act of kindness leads to the death of his daughter and the near death of Lawrence. Acting out of racial hate, men set fire to Parkin’s house and his three-year-old daughter is burned severely and dies from her wounds.
The men’s racial hatred leads to the death of an innocent young girl. The act was unintentional, but they have to live with the consequences of their actions. They will forever have the death of the young girl on their conscious. Once cannot take the guilt and kills himself.
Family
Family is important to David Parkin. His mother abandoned him when he was young so he likes the stability of a family. He marries Mary Anne knowing that she is pregnant with another man’s child. His love for her makes him look past any mistakes that she has made in her life. David loves their daughter, Andrea, as if she were his own. He feels that he is lying to her by not letting her know that he is not her biological father. This, however, does not diminish any love that he has for her. He is so happy with his family that he hates leaving them, even if it is to go to work.
Forgiveness
Even though their father caused Andrea's death, Mary was able to forgive and help the children of her child's murderer. Mary had been lost until they knocked on her door looking for help. They had no idea who she was. Her priest had been trying to work with her on the concept of forgiveness, but as when Christ was born, it took a child/children to lead her into love. Mary realizes that, in the act of forgiveness, there is peace and freedom.
