“[E]very day was something new to dread. Hitler’s Nazi storm terrorizing Europe. Gram’s illness. German U-boats downing American ships just off our shores. But none of us saw the big one coming. That we would kill one of our own.”

Briar summarizes the peril that the Smith family faces, though Tom is the only relative directly fighting in the war. Briar combines the dangers of war with problems that aren’t related to the war, like “Gram’s illness,” showing that life has hardships even without war. Briar’s final statement here foreshadows the death of Tyson.

“[Tyson] was interested in more than just football and getting drunk at bonfires. He actually knew almost as much about Joan of Arc as I did.”

Briar reinforces her relationship to Joan of Arc. French authorities didn’t believe Joan’s visions, just as the island authorities dismiss Briar’s U-boat sightings. Briar also provides a red herring or false clue about Tyson, suggesting that Tyson will turn out to be a sympathetic character when in fact he’s a Nazi spy and a pure antagonist.

“‘Anybody ever mistake you for a guy?’ ‘No, how about you, Jerry?’ He paused and then chuckled at that.”

The back and forth between Jerry and Briar highlights Briar’s nonconformist style and quick wit. Jerry tries to make fun of her by calling her out for not abiding by gender norms. Briar’s sharp retort here disarms him.

“I still stand by my belief that they can’t bring books into battle, but I have to say there have been many fewer fights among the men since you brought those books.”

Major Gilbert reveals his flexible character when he allows his soldiers to read. The books diminish the physical conflicts among the soldiers, symbolizing the value of Maintaining Compassion During Wartime. They help the soldiers act thoughtfully and with empathy.

“Just move the beach towel aside if a slew of young men in combat boots comes hastening past, and enjoy the show. You might even get a glimpse of good Major Gilbert, fearless leader of the island’s Cape Cod Commandos, as he takes them through their paces.”

Cadence’s column often has a playful tone. Though she reports deaths and illnesses, she tries to keep it lighthearted. The image of the women on the beach with the practicing soldiers creates a zany juxtaposition. Cadence also shows her penchant for alliteration due to the “g” words in, “You might even get a glimpse of good Major Gilbert.”

“How was she to know I couldn’t leave Gram and the farm, never mind pay for even part of it? And I’d been too ashamed to tell her. Of course, there was the worst part, too: that I’d never actually gotten my high school diploma.”

Cadence’s quote highlights The Tension Between Personal Dreams and Communal Responsibility. Cadence continually puts her publishing dreams on hold to be with her family. Before that, she didn’t even entertain college, because wanted to be with her family and didn’t want them to worry about paying for it. Cadence’s lack of a high school diploma becomes important to the plot later, as Mrs. Stanhope tries to use this fact to manipulate Cadence.

“I found a pulse, thready but there, and glanced at the call box along the shore. Not yet. Why get the authorities involved if I didn’t have to? Would they even believe me enough to come? I could attend to his medical care.”

The condescending attitude of the Coast Guard is central to the plot. If they took Briar seriously, she’d be more likely to trust them with Peter. Instead, she deals with Peter on her own, which creates the central conflict. At the same time, Briar’s attitude toward Peter reflects her independence and confidence.

“You just want to study him. You must be having a field day, seeing a Nazi up close like this. But this isn’t some spy game, Briar. We have to turn him in and be done with it. His story sounds so fake.”

Cadence and Briar are foils, so there’s often conflict. Through the tension, Cadence sheds light on Briar’s headstrong and mischievous character. She also reminds the characters and readers that Peter might be deceiving them.

“So much for the ladies being sorry not to have me. Now Margaret would be the hero, selling the book […] ‘Sell it hard, Margaret,’ I called out, ruing the day Margaret Coutinho joined our club.”

Due to Peter’s presence at the farm, Cadence can’t go on the yacht to New York. Once again, Cadence puts her family ahead of her personal ambitions, illustrating The Tension Between Personal Dreams and Communal Responsibility. Here, Cadence proves that she’s not perfect by admitting that she’s jealous of Margaret.

“They will know the truth. The dryness of my clothes. A complete medical evaluation. My blood-oxygen levels. They will know I have been out of the water for more than just a few hours. They’ll know you did not turn me in immediately.”

Peter gets the women to keep hiding him instead of turning him in by alerting them that the authorities will figure out the women didn’t turn him in right away. Peter is manipulating them, but he’s also providing an accurate scenario. Peter’s persuasion here is another key moment: As the women don’t turn him in, they have to deal with him and the trouble he brings.

“I want you to swear on this holy Bible that you will be a perfect gentleman while you’re under my roof.”

Gram reinforces her Christian beliefs by asking Peter to swear on a Bible that he won’t be inappropriate with the young women in her home. The request works as foreshadowing, since Peter develops a romantic relationship with Margaret while avoiding any hint of what Gram would consider impropriety.

“It’s just improbable. First of all, Rochester doesn’t know he’s actually on fire? That’s a deep sleeper. And second, Jane throws some water on the fire, and it just goes out. That would never happen. Clearly it was triggered by lamp oil, which, like all fuels, isn’t extinguished by water. Water only makes it worse.”

Briar underscores her practical, no-nonsense characterization by calling out the unrealistic fire scene in Jane Eyre. Briar applies her criticism to her life when Tyson sets fire to the kitchen, and Briar uses salt to extinguish it. Thus, the scene from the Brontë novel foreshadows the scene in Kelly’s novel.

“We can make him an identity card, best we can, and send him off to Minnesota. We’ll give him a little money for a train […] We need to get your hospital appointment made, Gram. And actually finish a book. I’m looking forward to a normal life again, aren’t you?”

For Cadence, the book club symbolizes normalcy. Cadence wants to get Peter out of the way and Gram healthy because she wants to return to her “normal” routine. The ironic sentence fragment “and actually finish a book” highlights the many disruptions that have made the dream of normalcy impossible.

“No. Yuck. I just came to drop off some of your grandfather’s things, and I thought someone was getting murdered in here.”

Briar’s diction—the word “yuck”—reveals her age and lack of maturity. Conversely, it shows her lack of interest in sex and romantic relationships, so it underscores her separateness. The “murdered” quip offers both humor and foreshadowing, since Peter kills Tyson.

“After a lovely cocktail hour, the captain ferried us all to the Never Moor, and I felt like Jay Gatsby rowing out to meet copper magnate Dan Cody’s yacht.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby receives multiple mentions in the novel. The soldiers want to read it, and Cadence compares herself to the titular antihero. Cadence is less problematic than Gatsby, and she doesn’t wind up dead in the swimming pool. Nevertheless, the novel helps Kelly subtly draw attention to the problems of American society.

“[I] watched through the slightly ajar door as he pulled his shirt over his head, then slid off his trousers and underwear. I stood riveted to the spot by the beauty of it.”

Cadence’s sexual desire for Major Gilbert highlights her burgeoning adulthood, positioning her storyline as a coming-of-age romance. Her growing desire for an independent life in New York’s publishing industry places her at odds with herself as she struggles to navigate The Tension Between Personal Dreams and Communal Responsibility.

“Women were so awful to each other back then. That Mrs. Stanhope. And Amelia. And what was up with Peter? Why didn’t he just leave?”

Mari, listening to Mrs. Devereaux’s story, turns into a reader or a book club member by commenting freely on the narrative. She asks questions that the reader might be thinking. Her comment about the women being “awful” to one another is distorted. Some of the women characters are hostile to other women, but the main women characters—Cadence, Briar, Margaret, and Bess—work together and demonstrate The Power of Solidarity Among Women.

“That crowd wouldn’t have reacted well to my eulogy, the main point being that my brother was not actually dead and they were all pawns in the military’s scheme to use up our servicemen and discard them.”

Briar counters propagandistic views of American military heroism. Her argument is that the US government uses the idea of heroism to induce young men to enlist, then treats them as disposable. Like The Great Gatsby, Briar highlights the carelessness of American society.

“Isn’t it all a bit odd? Last week he barely spoke to you. Now he wants you to meet Mummy.”

Cadence and Briar continue to create conflict due to their oppositional nature. Briar browbeats Cadence into entertaining the idea that Major Gilbert is a spy. She also makes fun of the British by using the English colloquialism “Mummy.”

“I was close to the answer, I could feel it. There is always a point in any pursuit when all factors seem to coalesce. ‘The quickening,’ Mr. Schmidt called it.”

Briar functions as detective. She puts the clues together and figures out that Tyson is the spy. She uses Mr. Schmidt’s term “the quickening,” which has a literal meaning. Once Briar confronts Tyson, events rapidly occur until there’s resolution.

“‘I’m afraid I can’t do it alone.’ ‘I know four women who will help.’”

Cadence tells Peter that she, Briar, Margaret, and Bess will help him bury Tyson. The exchange highlights The Power of Solidarity Among Women. Without the women working together and assisting Peter, he would not be able to accomplish this vital task.

“Someday I would tell Cadence why I made my pact with the devil. But for the time being I would have to keep up the pretense. The most important thing was to get medical help for Gram and the house rebuilt so she could return.”

Bess reinforces the villainous characterization of her mother with hyperbole. The dramatic word “devil” indicates that Mrs. Stanhope has no redeeming qualities. She’s a thoroughly toxic antagonist. Additionally, Bess sacrifices for the Smith family by not telling Cadence about the “pact.”

“[P]erhaps the casualties would have been even greater if Tyson had succeeded in divulging American strategies to Hitler.”

Briar provides a larger justification for killing Tyson. Aside from getting rid of a toxic element in their community, they stopped someone who had information that might have killed more American soldiers.