In Chapter 1, Kit describes Barbados nostalgically. She misses the "shimmering green and white that fringed the turquoise bay of Barbados." To her mind, the bleak shoreline of Saybrook pales in comparison to the exotic beauty of Barbados' ocean harbors.
She tells John Holbrook that Barbados is "as civilized as England with a famous town and fine streets and shops." To Kit, Barbados represents everything that is joyous, warm, and inviting. In Chapter 9, she tells Hannah that Barbados is indeed, Paradise, filled with the scent of flowers every day of the year. In fact, Hannah's seafaring friend, Nat, brings Hannah Barbados molasses and firewood as gifts from his travels. Barbados is well-known for its natural resources, and to Kit, the island represents a land teeming with life, growth, and hope.
Later in the novel, Kit tells of feeling homesick when she remembers a wedding she attended in Barbados only a year ago.
She could shut her eyes and see the long damask-covered table, set with gold and silver plate. The banquet had lasted for four hours. Light from crystal chandeliers had twinkled back from gold braid and jewels. Deep windows had opened out on curving formal gardens, and the sea breezes had filled the room with the scent of flowers. An almost intolerable loneliness wrapped Kit away from the joyous crowd.
To Kit, Barbados represents all the "warmth and color and fragrance and beauty that her heart craved."
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