The theme of grief and trauma is particularly pointed in the context of the novel’s World War I setting. While the physical effects of war are obvious, such as Laura’s leg wound and the scars on her hands, the novel is principally concerned with war’s mental and emotional impact, which it suggests via both literal and symbolic means (the latter including, for example, the ghosts who populate the narrative). Through contrasting character arcs, the novel demonstrates how loss can damage, change, or incapacitate a person, but it also makes the case that efforts to suppress or erase one’s trauma are futile. The only path forward, the novel concludes, is to face one’s trauma head-on.

Laura is the first character the novel introduces, and her arc sets the tone for its broader consideration of trauma. Laura’s grief and loss lead to guilt and the belief that she could and should have done more to save everyone, from soldiers she cared for at Brandhoek to her mother. According to the Parkey sisters, she collects ghosts in her wake like “penitent-beads,” implying that grief has led Laura to punish herself with constant reminders of her loss and failures.