Iain Crichton Smith's "Consider the Lilies" is a novel in which the use of setting plays an imperative role in one's overall appreciation of the text. Encompassing geographical, historical and social elements, setting is essential in facilitating a greater insight into the main character and the principal themes of the novel - law and grace. In due course, I intend to analyse Crichton Smith's skilful deployment of imagery and characterization to compound its significance in what the Scotsman has described as "A simple but noble book."

Crichton Smith's work delves in the `metamorphic' experience of Murdina Scott, a staunch devout Calvinist deserted by her husband and only son. At one point facing inevitable eviction and betrayal by the pillars of her entire frame of reference, she was eventually to "be broken out of her ideology" and begin to appreciate beauty as a normal "human being." Set in 1792, the...