The mists of St. Cloud's
Near the very beginning of the novel, we find that St. Cloud’s was originally called St. Clouds, and before that, simply ‘Clouds’ ‒ this name originates from the area’s distinctive mists. Homer commentates on these mists on Page 27, which reads, ‘[Homer] knew plenty about “mists” - they were what shrouded the river, the town, the orphanage itself; they drifted downriver from Three Mile Falls; they were what concealed one’s parents. They were the clouds of St.Cloud’s that allowed one’s parents to slip away, unseen.’ This strong imagery of mists leads one to imagine St. Cloud’s as a mysterious, shrouded place. It adds literal description and helps the reader build a mental image of these mists, and also lends to the feeling that St. Cloud’s is ‘covered up’ and hiding something. This further develops the idea that the orphanage, a place where abortions are performed, must be hidden away because of such practice.
The stars on the ceiling of the dispensary
Throughout the novel, it is noted that one can view the stars from the ceiling of the dispensary, which is where Larch often resides, and where he takes his ether. They are particularly present in the scene spanning pages 101-103, when Dr. Larch tells Homer that he wants him to be his assistant. Such description reads, ‘...the air in the immediate vicinity was alternately drowsy and sparkling with little stars.’ and ‘[Larch] lay on his back and waved his feet in the air while the firmament of stars circled above them.’ This scene is later mirrored on Page 254 when Dr. Larch is having a discussion with the board members who are trying to replace him, which reads, ‘...when [Larch] blinked his eyes he saw those bright stars that populated both a clear Maine night and the firmament of ether, and he wasn’t sure which stars they were.’ These stars are mentioned only in Larch’s particularly vulnerable moments, and often accompanied by a mention of ether, which could be said to be his main vulnerability. It is often attributed negatively to Larch that he ‘plays God’ by performing abortions and controlling the records of the orphans, and it is in these moments, under the wide expanse of infinite stars, that the reader understands that Dr. Larch isn’t anything close to a god ‒ he is merely a man. Therefore, these stars represent vulnerability, and the fact that despite our efforts to control our lives, we only end up controlling very little and are very much creatures of circumstance.
The animalistic nature of sex
On the night that Candy and Homer conceive Angel, there is a paragraph of imagery which reads, ‘And the trembling mice beneath the floor of the cider house stopped in their tracks between the cider house walls to listen to the lovers. ...what animal was this whose sound was petrifying them? The owl does not hoot when it hunts, and the fox does not bark when it pounces. But what is this new animal? wondered the cider house mice - what new beast has charged and disturbed the air?’ This description, written through the perspective of the cider house mice, is distinctly animalistic in its vocabulary and indeed, the mice mistake the two lovers for some sort of beast. This animal-oriented imagery lends to the feeling that the pair’s lovemaking is an animalistic, almost savage act, an instinctual process rather than a thought-out one. This attitude is reflected by Larch’s procedures, in which it is shown that the need to have sex and procreate are deeply ingrained instincts in humans, yet can often lead to negative outcomes.
Aging
Near the end of the novel, Nurse Angela, Nurse Edna, and Dr. Larch all become old and very close to being unable to perform their respective jobs. Nurse Edna notices this, and ponders about them seeming to all become the same in their old age. A section on Page 378 reads, ‘...were they, as Nurse Angela claimed, all becoming the same, all resembling each other, even physically? Anyone visiting St. Cloud's for the first time might suspect that they were all members of the same family.’ She also notes that Dr. Larch’s hand is ‘spotted with brown freckles’ ‒ another sign of his old age. This imagery of them becoming ‘all the same’ shows their need for change, for someone new in the orphanage, and highlights the growing vulnerability caused by getting older. This ‘all the same’ message also foreshadows Homer’s decision to finally go back to St. Cloud’s, where he is viewed by the board as ‘refreshing’ and ‘new’, as opposed to supposedly ‘old-fashioned’ and ‘weary’.
