How does the author use symbolism in the novel, Whereabouts?

The beach is a location the narrator visits multiple times in the novel, significant due to its symbolic merging of two prominent symbols, light and water. Existing as a fundamentally transitional space between water and land, light and shadow, the beach plays a symbolically significant role as the narrator expands her worldview from the beginning of the novel to the end. For example, the narrator visits the seaside on one sunny day but is unable to enter the water due to the strength of the waves. Water, symbolizing harmony with one's surroundings, eludes the narrator in this case, but the children playing nearby access it with ease, throwing themselves with abandon into the surf. The narrator also begins to feel the sun above and seeks shade, representing the narrator seeking a reprieve from the burden of seeking companionship.