Chris Guthrie

Chris Guthrie is the central character/protagonist. The story of her life, as told in the novel, is intricately connected to the story of Kinraddie itself and the radical changes that the village undergoes in the early twentieth century, which coincides with radical changes in Chris’s own life. Chris’s life story is also tied to the changing seasons and the different agricultural processes that occur at different times of the year.

Chris first arrives in Kinraddie as a teenager and is brought there when her father decides to take over the lease at Blawearie. This is symbolic of Chris’s dependence on her father and his plans and wishes at this moment in her life. As the novel progresses, however, Chris becomes more independent and more in control of what happens in her life. The titles of each chapter correspond to a particular phase in...