Script Notes: Symbolism

The Standing Stones are a major symbol in the novel, and yet they are very ambiguous. They are an obvious link with the past, but at the same time an example that nothing endures forever. However, the variety of human responses to them provide clues about character: John Guthrie is unsettled by them, even afraid; Chris and Robert Colquohoun - and to some extent Long Rob- are attracted and curious. For Chris they are a special place of retreat and peace.

The Land: Chris has a conscious affinity with the land, which she shares with Rob: it is in Ewan, Chae and Guthrie too, as a matter of instinct. The land seems to represent a continuity; connection to it, positive, natural and healthy.

Strong active men are several times likened to cats. This a minor but interesting detail, a reflection of the physicality and dexterity required for labour-intensive farming.

The horseman, and the plough: these are presented with a deliberate mystical association with male energy and the taming of the land to produce crops. Horse and plough are very specifically identified with Guthrie, Rob, Chae and Ewan. The ancient mythological image of the Corn King is evoked at the ploughing-match where Guthrie meets and wins the heart of Jean: in the image of Guthrie harvesting with the scythe; and the description of Ewan as the first farmer to plough the land in the first Spring of his marriage..

Cars are always negative. The car that frightens Guthrie's horse, prompts the outburst which causes his eviction. A car which nearly kills Chae’s son, lands Chae in court for assaulting the driver. A car returns the half-crippled Rob back to the Mill. The car Chris sees on the night of Ewan's disappearance is a portent of how he is stolen from her by the War, and turned into a brute.