In addition to a key part of the novel’s setting, mountains are an important signifier of Hollis’s self-perception. Before she moves in with the Regans, she hears herself referred to as “a mountain of trouble” (13) by the stucco woman. In this context, the mountain represents a vast and insurmountable obstacle, which is what Hollis has always believed herself to be: something that’s in the way. However, a mountain as a literal place does appear with positive connotations early in the book. After her time out in the First Picture, Hollis describes “looking at a picture of a pointy mountain” (2) and imagines herself living on top of one with a motley assortment of pets. Here, the mountain stands for escape from a stifling existence. The book indicates early on that, if Hollis could find peace on a mountain, she could make peace with herself.

The Regans’s house in Branches is at the foot of a mountain that the Old Man owns. Hollis notes in the Third Picture that, even though she didn’t grow up near mountains, this one immediately feels familiar to her. The mountain’s solidity parallels with the reliable permanence of the Old Man’s love.