Water appears in many forms throughout the novel, most notably in the frozen swimming hole and river in Chapter 1, in the viaduct in Chapter 2, and in the waterworks in Chapters 4 through 7. Water carries different significance in each of its appearances (which are more numerous than just these examples) and to each character. In the scene where Patrick and Hazen rescue the cow that fell through the ice over the swimming hole, water is dangerous, powerful, and painful; in the context of the viaduct, it is grand, awe-inspiring, and dangerous; in the waterworks, it is a force of destruction and oppression. An important example of water’s complex and paradoxical nature occurs when Caravaggio breaks into Anne’s house on the lake: Anne declares she has “literally fallen in love with the lake,” and Caravaggio counters that he has “always had a fear of water creatures” (203).

Like water, fire and dynamite carry different connotations in their various appearances in the novel. Dynamite is associated with skill and precision in the context of Hazen and Patrick’s jobs as industrial dynamiters. However, dynamite causes Hazen and Alice’s tragic deaths, so it also carries the threat of mortal danger and violence.