42 pages • 1-hour read
The Heat of the Day
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Symbols & Motifs
Shadow/Light
Light and darkness function as prevalent and layered symbols throughout The Heat of the Day. On a literal level, London blackout orders mean that nighttime light is prohibited and increased darkness is a fact of life: “It was a time of opening street doors conspiratorially: light must not escape on to steps” (47). Bowen also uses shadow to symbolize the darkness of mood, both on a collective level throughout London and for individual characters.
For example, the first introduction of the novel’s protagonist, Stella, involves her absentmindedly playing with the cord of a blackout blind: “[I]ts roller hidden under the pretty pelmet, was pulled some way down, throwing a nightlike shadow across this end of the ceiling […]. She did not correct the irregularity, perhaps because the effect of it, méchant, slipshod, was in some way part of her mood” (20). This represents the small but significant domestic consequences of war, with the presence of the blind to create nightlike shadow. The fact that the blinds in the room are uneven also suggests The Experience and Limbo of Wartime, with Stella feeling that she, too, is slightly “slipshod” instead of feeling entirely stable and at ease. Stella’s relationship to shadow reflects her mental state, as the irregular state of being between darkness and light is indicative of her mood as she dreads Harrison’s arrival.
Cigarettes
Cigarettes and the action of smoking function as a motif throughout the novel. Most characters smoke, and cigarettes often feature in scenes with important social interactions. Smoking is an important ritual that Bowen uses to show how characters feel about themselves and their situation.
For example, during his initial conversation with Louie, Harrison’s “[b]eing accosted jerked him near enough to the surface to remember he had forgotten to smoke. He felt for his packet of cigarettes, lit one, let the match drop between his knees, then shifted one foot to stamp it out. All was done without looking her way again” (7). This smoking gesture shows Harrison’s distraction as he prepares to meet with Stella, and distaste for the conversation Louie is trying to have with him. The act of lighting a cigarette also provides space for a pause in the conversation. Similarly, characters in the novel often smoke when they don’t want to answer a question or need time to think.
Bowen characterizes both specific and more general social interactions using the cigarette motif. For instance, when Harrison offers Stella a cigarette, she thinks that “it was as hypnotising as being offered a cigarette across a consulting-room desk or a lawyer’s table, and with just that rebellious subservience she had to take one” (31). Harrison’s offering of the cigarette reminds Stella of someone with social status and authority like a doctor in a “consulting-room” or a lawyer, which suggests Harrison’s intimidating power, while the paradox of her “rebellious subservience” implies that, while she may feel compelled to listen to him, she may not necessarily agree to what he demands of her.
Music
Music functions as a motif throughout The Heat of the Day. It is mentioned relatively infrequently, but always in very significant scenes. Music is closely related to The Experience and Limbo of Wartime. The most significant reference to music is the novel’s opening at the outdoor concert by the Viennese orchestra. The surreal experience of being in London during the war is illustrated through Louie’s thought process: “[T]he music could not travel far though the park—but hints of it that did escape were disturbing,” and “the source of music was found to be also the source of dusk. War had made them idolise day and summer” (3). Bowen thus emphasizes a connection between music, darkness, and a disturbing tone. The music is disturbing in part because it feels out of place: The contrast between the normalcy of an evening outdoor concert and the strange experience of living in London soon after the Blitz creates discordance.
Music is also present in the description of Cousin Francis’s death in the waiting room of the home where Nettie is living: “The taxi bespoken by Cousin Francis to drive him back again to the station had arrived on the tail of the ambulance coming for his body: both were greeted by music from gramophones wafted out of the windows of the patients’ rooms” (73, emphasis added). Bowen thus emphasizes the connection between music and the dark and disturbing—in this case, death.
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