Race divides this story in ways that shouldn't matter. George loves Rena, but that love is shadowed by his tacit agreement with racist narratives that dominate his culture. He struggles to work through this, but at least he isn't hateful enough to spitefully destroy Rena's life by outing her as a Black woman. Then again, Rena lives in the shadows of her true identity, a theme that is hinted at by her death. She dies because of a mysterious illness that overtakes her when she runs into the woods to avoid George.
Jeff Wain is another interesting figure in the story, because he makes a perfect foil of George's failure as a suitor. George cannot commit to Rena because he knows that she kept serious secrets from her, but eventually he comes around. Then, there is Jeff, a man who did commit to his wife, but then resented her and abused her physically, so badly she had to escape for her life. Jeff lies too, saying that his wife is dead. One one side, there is a love that doesn't happen because of a lie, and on the other, the story of a love turned rotten by malice and abuse.
What brings those two stories together? The answer lies in the secrecy around both stories. Rena's shameful secret is not shameful. She is just the victim of systemic injustice and hateful racial prejudice. In Jeff's case, he is allowed a position of power in the lives of children, even though he actually has committed atrocities against his own family. The portrait is one of systemic injustice, because Rena faces a worse fate than Jeff, just because Jeff is not a Black woman and Rena is.
