The Lady of the Barge · Theme

The Past and Its Ghosts

How The Lady of the Barge develops The Past and Its Ghosts.

The past relentlessly haunts characters, whether through the return of an old shipmate seeking blackmail, the guilt of a murder, or the supernatural consequences of a wish, emphasizing that one cannot escape history.

Where it surfaces

Chapter III
Herbert's death haunts the family, and the attempt to bring him back symbolizes the inability to let go of the past.
Captain Rogers
Rogers's past as a pirate returns to haunt him in the form of Gunn, forcing him to confront the consequences of his former life.
Three at Table
The son's disfigurement from a past fire haunts the family, leading to their strange customs and the dark dinner.