Long Stow Church as a Symbol of Redemption
The church of Long Stow serves as a symbol to the road of redemption. It was burnt to the ground when Robert Carlton had confessed his sin, and appeared, to his former parishioners, in a similar state of ruin. Throughout the story, however, he undertook the task of rebuilding the church; a task of extreme difficulty since he had to do it by himself. This is symbolic of his inner and spiritual progress, for he had to rebuild the foundation of his soul just like he did that of the church. In both cases, he started from scratch, and had to struggle and suffer before he could see any growth. When the task of rebuilding the church had finally come to an end after five long years of toil, Carlton’s spiritual progress also reached its final stage. His redemption was complete, for he had atoned for his sin to both God and Man.
Food as a Symbol of Moderation
Following his scandal with the Musks, Carlton was deserted by his servants. Thus, he found himself under the obligation of cleaning and cooking for himself. At the beginning, he gave very little importance to his diet. He fed mainly on eggs and bacon as if to punish himself bodily for his sin. In the course of time, however, he came to understand that such food had very little nutrition, and could not sustain him for a long time. Thus, food, in the text, is also symbolic for the sustenance of both soul and mind. A healthy body necessitates a healthy diet. Similarly, a healthy mind and soul require a healthy routine of hard and honest work combined with the needed rest and peace of mind. At the beginning of his progress, Carlton suffered a guilty conscience, and could not go on with his tasks without feeling the burden of his sin. As he went on, however, he learned the importance of moderation, and managed to balance his sense of guilt with the honesty of redemption.
Solitude as a Motif of Honesty
The novel is concerned with the hypocrisy of late Victorian England. For this reason, Hornug had used solitude as motif to develop this theme. Solitude goes hand in hand, in the text, with honesty and truthfulness. Refusing to live as a hypocrite, Carlton, for one, had chosen to confess his sin and live in utter solitude away from any hypocritical social construct. Similarly, Gwynneth is said to have lived a quiet life, mostly removed from the buzz of society and its unavoidable duality. These two characters are the most honest individuals in the story, which confirms the use of solitude as a motif of honesty to develop the theme of hypocrisy.
Darkness as a Motif of Duality
The struggle between shadow and persona is one the central themes in the novel. Darkness is used as a motif to develop it, and dwell upon the intensity of such a psychological battle. After hearing about the scandal of their parson, some of the villagers of Long Stow decided to go to the parsonage and launch an attack in the dead of night. The fact that they did so in utter darkness indicates the division between the true selves of people and the assumed images, which they reflect with the design of creating a public image. This duplicity is further developed when Jasper Musk had set the church in fire. Twice he did so, and it was in the dead of night each single time. The symbolism of the timing conveys, thus, the truth of people and how they hide in darkness their true selves.
Long Stow as an Allegory of the English society
Peccavi has, for a setting, the village of Long Stow - in other words, rural England. But its story is actually an allegory to the bigger picture and what was happening in all England during the late years of the 19th century. The book is allegorical by dint of its inclusion of all the main societal institutions counting schools, courts, churches, farms, barns, shops…etc This meticulous reproduction of the necessary components of life form a complete miniature of England. Thus, the story of the parson of Long Stow is but an allegory of what was happening in England at the turn of the century.
