The Loney

The most significant symbol in the novel, the Loney represents the all-consuming power of nature and nature's indifference to man. The Loney is frequently the site of drownings and deaths, and its tides regularly kill fishermen and others. These deaths occur absent of morality, as the Loney is only operating according to natural principles and has no connection with ethics or spirituality. The Loney simply exists, separate from all constructs and institutions, and its power cannot be harnessed or quantified. Even the dimension of time seems to be irrelevant at the Loney.

The Loney is also a guiding force in the landscape and thus the lives of the people who live at Coldbarrow. The Loney controls and restricts their actions, and its desolate landscape represents the desolation and moral depravity of the people that live along it. The Loney is the site of Father Wilfred...