Susan is caught out on the frontier of a young country still in the process of being formed. How does the specter of the frontier manifest in the novel? What does it mean to “go West”?

Oliver is an engineer who works on mines. Susan is an artist, a person who sees the metaphorical importance of these mines. How does the literary significance of the mines intersect with the lives of the miners?

Lyman and his grandparents all experience marital difficulties. What parallel can be found between the two marriages? How do they inform one another?