Buildings and time
There is a strong association between the survival of old buildings and the passage of time. The connection can also be understood as a ghost story motif because of the symbolic connection between the scandalous deaths of the novel and Annie's somewhat-horrifying experience of learning that scandal from the past. The symbolism points to time as a haunting aspect of reality, because of precisely the message the voices of the past detail: human death. The building ages with time, and it survives the generations of humans who live there and then die. The Victorian aspect helps here because of the English tradition of estates.
The Victorian motif
The symbolism and costume which shape Annie's imagination most in this novel are those of Victorian England. She clings to that era of history and then experiences a time warp that puts her very near that era in history, so that the book has a plainly Victorian feel. That Victorian flavor provides a helpful backdrop for the novel, since the conspiracies of the novel are rooted in the social fabric of that day. Annie is a helpful arbiter of that social fabric because of her personal knowledge about that world, which helps her to navigate that strange past on the reader's behalf.
The conspiracy
In order to properly interpret the conspiracy to marry into Harriett's family and then frame her murder for an inheritance, remember that to Annie, the whole of this conspiracy is largely unknown, and she only finds out because of a close call which left a servant of the house dead. The conspiracy is discovered during a time of fun and whim where Annie's imagination is euphoric and rewarding. Into that key of bliss, the conspiracy is interjected like a tritone. The symbolism points to enlightenment, because before the conspiracy Annie is in innocence, but after she understands what humans are capable of, she is experienced.
Clarence's death
Clarence's death is an archetypal symbol for the defeat of malice and evil. This is an important part of the heroic experience, but notice that Annie is not exactly the defeater of evil; rather, Annie provides an objective witness to an epic tale of love, betrayal, and murder—a story that might have been dead forever if she had not decided to explore the old mansion. The death is a symbol for a fall from grace, because he is at a high altitude when he is killed, and it symbolizes a karmic recompense for murderous intentions—Clarence is literally punished before he can even succeed.
Annie's journey
Annie's imagination is an important part of how this novel evolves, because as she walks through this new world of hers, she is given increasingly dramatic information which causes her to understand her time warp in new and sometimes nerve-wracking ways. For instance, when she realizes that she has accidentally tangled herself in the inner coils of a social network where a murder was just committed, she suddenly realizes that her situation might be more dire than she originally suspected. This signifies her personal awareness that she is now in the realm of chaos, not knowing where potential threats might be located because she is not accustomed to the times. She ends the novel by completing the journey and returning to her own time.
