Hopeless

The Chestnut Springs setting symbolizes the novel’s theme of Combating Reputational Stigma in a Small-Town Community. Both Beau Eaton and Bailey Jansen have grown up and spent the majority of their lives in Chestnut Springs. The rural, mountain town appears idyllic on its surface, defined by mountains, grasslands, and ranches. However, both Beau and Bailey have negative relationships with the setting.

When Beau returns from his tour in Afghanistan, he feels stifled by his hometown. The way he describes the setting in the novel’s opening scene captures his feelings of entrapment: “I pivot on the corner of Rosewood and Elm to watch the train puff past. Chugging along. Back and forth. Point A to point B. Load. Unload. Wait overnight. Start over again” (2). The use of fragmentation in this moment enacts Beau’s fatigue with his surroundings. The predictability of life here limits who he can be. He also feels trapped by how the townspeople see him, never making room for all of the harrowing experiences he has encountered during his time away or the way they might have impacted him.

Bailey’s experience of Chestnut Springs is similarly stifling. No matter where she goes, she is judged, ridiculed, or scorned. People either ignore or whisper about her. They see her according to her brothers’ and father’s reputations and refuse to give her a chance to prove herself outside the context of her family. The only place she feels safe is at The Railspur; everywhere else in town, she has to hide her face or conceal her last name. These dynamics make the place unwelcoming to both of the main characters and complicate their ability to discover themselves on their own terms. When they leave Chestnut Springs at the novel’s end, they are liberating themselves from stigma and claiming autonomy over their lives.