Forests play an important role in this story. Other than being a setting, what do you think is the symbolism of the forest in this book? Is there more than one interpretation?
I agree that forests did play an important part of the story both as a setting and as a psychological place. I believe that the forest represents that dark place that people go, sometimes to hide and sometimes to commit the unthinkable. The forest was a constant presence for Anna and she became disturbed whenever she even came close to it.
I love to take walks in the forest and find it comforting, but often in literature, think Hansel and Gretel, it is where you become lost and find scary people.
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Forests and woods are can be quiet and secluded settings that shut out the noises of the world in which we mainly live. Sanctuaries for some characters to find the true self, whether that be for good or evil. Authors tend to describe forests as deep, dark, and mysterious. I grew up exploring woods with bird sounds, cool summer breezes and a cold natural spring. The South Woods was a place of comfort and serenity. When Anna needed comfort and serenity she fled to a place that held dark memories.
I was born in a forest, albeit in a hospital in that forest. I grew up playing in the woods, loving the smells, the sights through the seasons, and the wildlife therein. For me, they were never scary or in any way foreboding. But that was my childhood, not necessarily true for everyone - some people have found fear in the suburbs.
Having read the book Overstory by Richard Powers where the forest trees were not only alive but communicated as characters, it confirmed my beliefs that talking to my plants wasn’t crazy!
To that end I found giving voice to the Forest Strangler really interesting and I liked it.
Forests are often depicted as dark, frightening, isolated places where people tend to get lost and are sometimes never found, as well as places people go to hide They also represent the unbridled power of nature both to create and destroy, which was a major aspect of the story. In literature, forests are often the places were secrets are hidden and found which, again, was a large component of this book.
I enjoyed how the forest was used as both a place of darkness and of solace. The same forest that serves as a peaceful place to enjoy nature is definitely not so peaceful in the dark. I guess it depends on how the author chooses to describe it in the story. In this story, I also liked how it was a place of mystery. What really happened on those evenings that Anna’s sleepwalking led her into the woods?