The story of Arvay Meserve is the story of a woman’s quest for self-fulfillment, a quest fraught with self-imposed obstacles. A victim of her social class’s mores and values, Arvay is not a woman in charge of her own destiny. Two symbols, one natural, the other constructed, exemplify the two warring halves of Arvay’s psyche: the mulberry tree and the Henson house.

Throughout the novel, the mulberry tree grows in mythic proportions in Arvay’s mind. As a child, the tree took on an idyllic significance for Arvay. The center of her childhood play, the mulberry tree also became the vehicle for her pondering the mysteries of the universe. Peering through its strong, life-affirming branches, Arvay cannot see the heavenly figures she strains to envision. She learns then that heaven is not in the realm of her perception, that it is a long way off.

As an adolescent, the tree becomes a refuge from what Arvay thinks is an unbearable situation. She indulges in her fantasy that Carl Middleton will realize the mistake he has made by marrying ’Raine and will come back to her, kissing the hem of her garment as an act of contrition. Under its ever-blooming branches, Arvay renews her hope that she will be freed from the guilt and repression that have imprisoned her soul. Eventually, the tree becomes a sacred respite, a temple where she knows that she can find peace and spiritual sanctuary. When her sexual feelings are reawakened with the appearance of Jim Meserve, she brings him to this sacred place in an effort to purge herself from her wanton, and therefore unworthy, thoughts of Carl Middleton. Her rape may seem like an act of desecration, but in Arvay’s mind it is an emancipation of sorts. Out of this violent act, Arvay’s slow movement away from her “cracker” ties begins.

When she returns as a middle-aged woman, the tree brings back Arvay’s most pleasant memories. The rape now marks the beginning of her new life. The mulberry tree thus again becomes a sacred place. Appalled at the sight of the dilapidated house and its sinister appearance, Arvay sets fire to it. She recognizes that her heritage, symbolized by the house, has stifled her: “It had soaked in so much of doing-without, of soul starvation, of brutish vacancy of aim, of absent dreams, envy of trifles . . . that it was a sanctuary of tiny and sanctioned vices.” Her soul purged by the fire, Arvay is free to seek the peace and harmony the tree symbolizes. She donates the land to the town of Sawley, stipulating that it be used as a park and that the mulberry tree be cared for in perpetuity. The Henson home, which stood for the pettiness of Sawley, is transformed into a metaphorical sacred grove. Now that she has vanquished the house, she is able to embark on her newfound quest for happiness and marital bliss.