Marriage

Marriage in the novel is presented as an institution fraught with illusions — of permanence, stability, and certainty — that ultimately unravel. Ellery’s very presence at the resort is tied to the ghost of her own marriage, as she spends what would have been her 20th wedding anniversary alone, her husband having left her. This personal loss lingers in the background of everything she experiences, highlighting the stark contrast between the hopeful beginnings marriage is meant to represent and the quiet devastation when those promises fall apart. Her marriage, once assumed to be a lifelong partnership, is now reduced to a symbolic date on the calendar, marking not love and longevity but abandonment and regret.

This idea is mirrored in the central wedding of the novel, which is called off at the last minute and overshadowed by the groom’s death. What should have been a celebration...