“Dreams aren’t for people like me. People like me have to make two lists: what they need and what they want. You keep the first list short, if you’re smart, and you burn the second one.”

This early quote from Opal summarizes her viewpoint throughout most of the novel. She feels that, due to her poverty, she cannot let herself pursue her own dreams. Instead, she only focuses on providing for her brother. This view of her priorities is one of her primary character flaws, and she only manages to overcome this internal stumbling block when she embraces her desire to make Starling House her home at the end of the novel.

“It’s something about the way the shadows fell in Eden, after Eleanor died. It’s the way everything soured: the river ran darker and the clouds hung lower; rich coal seams went dry and healthy children sickened; good luck went bad and sweet dreams spoiled. It’s the way Starling House crouches just out of sight, watching us all. It’s the way the fog still rises, on chill and rotten nights. Some people think it’s just weather, but my granddaddy always said it was her: Eleanor Starling, whittled down to nothing but malice and mist, still thirsty for Gravely blood, haunting the town that still hates her.”

This excerpt from Bev’s story about Starling House adheres to many of the conventional imagery and symbolism that is characteristic of the Southern Gothic genre. From the gloomy atmosphere to the foreboding tone and physical setting, the passage is designed to create a sense of tension and suspense that is steeped in long, bitter histories and hidden shame. The quote also establishes Eden’s general perspective on Eleanor and Starling House, for the townspeople associate both with the “bad luck” that Eden continually experiences.