Broken Country

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child death and animal death.

The lake at Meadowlands functions as a powerful symbol throughout the novel, marking the evolution of Beth and Gabriel’s relationship across time. When they first meet as teenagers, the lake represents the beginning of their love and the promise of youth. Gabriel has “set himself up with a rug, a picnic hamper, and a folding canvas chair, a pair of fishing rods propped up against it” (17). This idyllic setting becomes the backdrop for their blossoming romance, and the lake’s over-the-top beauty reflects the intensity of their connection: “The glittering water and overhanging trees, their fronts reflected in a mirror image of feathery gold. The irregular stipple of white and pink” (18). The lake is a private paradise, separate from the social divisions that would ordinarily keep them apart.

Years later, when Gabriel returns to Meadowlands with his son, Leo, the lake becomes a site of reconnection for him and Beth. When they return to the lake during their affair, it evokes nostalgia but also highlights the painful reality of their choices. The lake represents not just the beauty of their past but also the sorrow of what might have been.