Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

The South Western Railway train that Iona travels on provides not only a plot device and crucial setting for the novel, but also a symbol of the novel’s themes of The Importance of Making Connections and the links between Endings and New Beginnings. More broadly, the train, as a method of transportation, represents one’s journey through life, while the individual carriage represents the microcosms in which people are able to make valuable social and supportive connections. The train commute is part of the daily routine for the travelers who travel it, yet each journey, like each new day, provides an opportunity for exploration, connection, and growth.

Iona’s ritual surrounding her commute—choosing the same carriage, the same table, the same seat—represents how humans take comfort in the familiar and whenever possible like to have control over their surroundings. At the same time, Iona’s choice of an odd carriage number—carriage three—and an uneven row seat—seven—reflects her appreciation for difference, as “[s]he didn’t like things to be too round or convenient” (3).

Over the course of the novel, the train goes from being an anti-social space to a social one, even offering the venue for Iona’s birthday party as she and her friends travel back and forth.