Stone is a pivotal element in this novel, both in a literal and symbolic sense. Limestone, in particular, takes center stage. The story explores various aspects such as stonemasonry, quarries, the stone industry throughout the 20th century, and the development of cities with stone architecture and sculptures. It also delves into fossil research. This stone theme contrasts with the feminine delicacy and floral interests of Clarentine Flett and Daisy Goodwill Flett, along with Barker Flett's fascination with lady's slippers. These interests represent the transformation of organic life into inorganic limestone over time. Cuyler Goodwill explains in a lecture how geological processes combined to form limestone. The geological record acts as the "written" history of the physical world; living organisms perish, their bodies decompose, and over time, their remnants become stone, sometimes preserving fossilized traces of organic matter. Workers extract, carve, and construct with the stone, but eventually, these creations erode, as demonstrated by the vandalized Goodwill Tower over Mercy's grave and the deteriorating pyramid Cuyler builds in his backyard. The book also features orphans in Stonewall, all sharing the surname Stone, and Daisy Flett's children claiming they have "genes of pure granite." The novel layers texts and composite "diaries," focusing on stone and the family members descended from a woman named Stone.