Hannah Coulter

Port William, Kentucky, the novel’s fictional setting, acts as a living symbol of continuity, belonging, and moral vision, asserting that home is more than just a point on a map. Through Hannah’s eyes, Port William epitomizes the Rural Life and Agrarian Values in danger of extinction from the forces of modernity. For Berry, Port William is a model for what it means to be truly at home in the world, content with the life one has, rather than striving for something better. The town isn’t just the place where Hannah lives, but also where her life has been formed and where her identity has taken root. Port William, like time, is paradoxically constant and ever-changing. As Hannah notes, it “has always been, and maybe too that it will always be […] Port William has never been the same place two minutes together. But I think any way it has ever been it will always be. It is an immortal place” (55). For Hannah, the town transcends time, not because it remains physically unchanged, but because it is formed by the generations who have loved and labored there. Its immortality comes from carrying forward the values and memories of its people.