Physical distance is not emotional or mental distance

Physical distance is not emotional or mental distance, argues Maggie O’Farrell in This Must Be the Place. Just because someone physically gets away from something does not mean they are actually free of it. They can still be emotionally and mentally defined, influenced, or affected by it. This is certainly the case with respect to Daniel, Claudette, and other minor characters in the novel.

For Claudette, she lives daily with the knowledge of who she once was, and how she was always in the public eye as an actress. She has moved to Donegal for a quiet, family life outside of the public purview. Yet on a daily basis, Claudette fears being rediscovered and igniting a media firestorm which will plunge her back into the limelight. Even though she is miles and miles away physically from her past...