The imposing Hope's End mansion serves as both sanctuary and prison, reflecting the psychological and physical isolation that shapes the characters' experiences. This theme manifests through Lenora's self-imposed exile, the house's precarious clifftop location, and Kit's growing sense of entrapment within the mansion's dark history.

The story explores how the ability to control one's narrative can be a form of power. Through Lenora's delayed revelation and selective storytelling via typewriter, the novel examines how those who survive to tell the tale shape historical memory and perception, regardless of objective truth.

Time acts as both healer and destroyer in the narrative, showing how decades of silence can either bury or preserve truth. The dual timeline structure emphasizes how past events echo through generations, while memories and perspectives shift with the passage of years.