# Isolation and Community Secrecy in The Place Called Dagon

> Theme guide for The Place Called Dagon by Herbert Gorman.

The town of Marlborough is isolated and its inhabitants are taciturn, hiding a collective secret that manifests in their reticence and the mysterious, forbidden Westcott farm.

## Where it surfaces

- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/i): The Westcotts are ostracized and self-sufficient, and the town of Marlborough is characterized by an 'excessive reticence' and a refusal to answer questions about its history.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/ii): The night journey through a dark, silent landscape and the locked doors of the Westcott farm emphasize the secrecy and isolation of the valley's inhabitants.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/iii): Westcott's deliberate seclusion and his dismissal of neighbors underscore the theme of isolation and the secrecy of the community.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/i): Marlborough is depicted as a sequestered, insular community with a hidden, profound secret beneath its taciturn exterior.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/ii): The chapter emphasizes the isolation of the Westcott farm and the secrecy surrounding the family, with Dreeme sensing that the town's houses are masks hiding true features.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/iii): The meal is marked by a greedy silence and a lack of open communication, suggesting hidden tensions and unspoken secrets within the community.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/iii): Lathrop warns Dreeme that the people of Marlborough 'will not be watched and analyzed', implying a community that guards its secrets and resists outside scrutiny.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/i): The chapter highlights the isolation of Marlborough and the secretive nature of its inhabitants, as seen in Mrs. Slater's evasiveness and the hidden motives behind Deborah's move.
- [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/ii): The clandestine meeting at the mill and the fear of being seen reflect the secrecy and isolation of the community.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/i): The Westcott farm is depicted as a dreary, isolated place, and the family's silent, tense interactions suggest a deep-seated secrecy and hidden conflicts.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/ii): Dreeme feels like an outsider, and the community's hidden tensions and secrets are palpable.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/i): Lathrop's advice to Dreeme underscores the town's closed nature and its reluctance to investigate a murder, hinting at hidden secrets.
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/iv): The valley's farmers are bound by an ancient fear and secret bloodline, kept alive by Westcott's dominance.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/ii): Martha's lonely upbringing in the valley and the hidden mark on her body.
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/viii): The Westcott farm is depicted as a place of physical and emotional isolation, where family secrets and community suspicions fester.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/i): Dreeme feels alienated from the town, and the storm mirrors the community's coldness and hidden tensions.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/iii): The atmosphere is described as inducing an 'ingrowing that was unhealthy and unnatural,' with characters concealing things from one another, highlighting the secrecy and isolation within the community.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/i): The valley's hidden practices and the farmers' desire to forget their ancestors' involvement in witchcraft reflect the secrecy and isolation of the community.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/chapters/iii): The swamp's isolation and the secretive journey to Dagon underscore the theme of a hidden community practicing forbidden rites away from the outside world.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/themes/isolation_and_community_secrecy
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_place_called_dagon_se/themes