Politics

The political divisions in Northern Ireland during the Troubles function as the bedrock of the novel's meditations on the human condition. Although the story is presented as being about a romantic affair, there is a sense in which the actual "romance" between Cushla and Michael is secondary to the political tensions that inform it. Throughout the novel, Cushla functions as something of an exotic muse for Michael while he carries out his work as a pro-Irish activist among his English peers. This dynamic creates tension in their relationship and opens up many of the novel's questions about the possibility of reconciliation between warring cultural factions.

The sense in which Cushla functions as something of a symbol in Michael's life reframes the entirety of the novel's plot as an examination of the attitudes of well-meaning colonial activists toward the people whom they claim to desire to liberate...