Evie describes the parents as a “cautionary tale.” What does she mean by this? How does it relate to her later vision of the parents as “invalids” who are trailed by phantoms of their own thwarted hopes?

Late in the novel, Evie’s mother quotes Voltaire as an excuse for not helping others, saying, “All we can do is cultivate our garden” (212). Given the quasi-biblical context of the novel, why is this remark particularly ironic?

At the great house, Evie is intrigued by a painting of a bear. How and why does the painting’s meaning change for her after the storm? How does the painting relate to her feeling of “hope” at the end of the novel?