A Slow Fire Burning

Many characters experience discrimination and stigma in the novel based on various types of marginalization. However, while representing the suffering of these characters, Hawkins also shows that they have the capacity to reclaim agency and find happiness when they work together. Laura, Miriam, Irene, and Angela are all marginalized and largely seen as pitiful by society. Laura has a physical disability, a history of legal infractions, and very little money; she has been mocked, misunderstood, and abused because she does not have traditionally feminine characteristics. Miriam is isolated, physically unattractive, and lacking in money; she feels an affinity for Laura because, as she explains, “I recognize the damage in you, because I’ve been damaged too” (189). Miriam and Laura are both angry and embittered because of past traumas and the lack of power they wield in their own lives.

Angela has already died when the novel begins, but the backstories of other characters show that she was alienated from her son, isolated, and suffering from alcoholism. Angela’s marginalization is revealed through the dismissive attitude the police take towards her death: They assume her drunken actions caused her death. Irene has perhaps the most complex relationship to social marginalization; being elderly, she does lead a very isolated life and is aware that most people perceive her as limited by her age.