Prefabricated homes

Prefabricated homes are symbolic of changing times. Early in the novel, Isaac and others watch as a prefabricated home is brought in and installed in Kaaterskill. It is the first of its kind, and is at architecturally-designed odds with the very traditional, old-fashioned homes and buildings in Kaaterskill. New designs here symbolize the new ideas -such as feminism -that will soon come to challenge the orthodoxy of the Kirshner community.

Dancing

Dancing is symbolic of generational differences. When Elizabeth dances with Beatrix in sight of Cecil, Elizabeth’s five daughters look on with great disapproval. This is because Elizabeth’s daughters are more conservative than she is. The members of Elizabeth’s parents’ generation are conservative, while many of Elizabeth’s generation, like Beatrix, are more moderate -but their children are far more conservative, as they have grown up in the community their entire lives...