The Cellar

The cellar where Dessa is held captive in the first section of the novel represents the power of enslavement to control the human spirit. While in the cellar, Dessa is in complete isolation, fed meager meals, and made to defecate on herself. The cellar restricts Dessa's sense of self, her capacity for thought, speech, and even movement. The tight walls of the cellar represent the oppressive walls of slavery as a whole, and its debasing effects on the individual.

Kaine's Banjo

Kaine's banjo represents the lost facets of the past. The music Kaine brings into Dessa's life pervades her dreams. Though she realizes nothing will ever be the way it used to be, that she will never get Kaine back, she attempts to hold onto the sound of Kaine's banjo as a means of stabilizing herself.

Sutton's Glen

Sutton's Glen represents a protected microsociety in...