Community

Community is one of the central themes of The Country of the Pointed Firs. The entire novel focuses on the narrator's description of the tiny community of Dunnet Landing. As the central character, Mrs. Todd functions as a touchstone by which the narrator is able to perceive the lines that interconnect the individual members of the community. The narrator meets or hears of many members of the community through Mrs. Todd, and learns of their relationships to one another. Although most of the people she meets—all of them over the age of sixty and either widowed or widowers—seem to lead generally solitary lives, the strong community ties that hold Dunnet Landing together are clearly indicated.

The Bowden family reunion demonstrates most powerfully the strong communal ties among the town's citizens. The lines between family and community are in fact blurred, as a wide network of people...