What do doves symbolize in the book, Harvest: A Novel?

Doves conventionally symbolize of purity and innocence, and their death by fire at the beginning of the novel thus symbolizes the end of innocence in the village. Brooker Higgs' need to find a scapegoat for the fire sets off a chain of events that sends the village into chaos and eventually destruction. However, toward the end of the novel, Crace invokes the symbol to suggest that Walter Thirsk might have a chance for a fresh start when, as he looks out over the empty village, he says his arms are "folded at my back like wings" (223).