42 pages • 1 hour read
Lovelight Farms
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Symbols & Motifs
Lovelight Farms
Lovelight Farms has many meanings, particularly to Stella. As a symbol, it represents all the hard work she put into making her goals come true. The farm reminds her of her childhood and how she and her mother would visit often during the holidays. Stella repeatedly reflects on how she and her mother wouldn’t have been able to come to the farm so often if it had charged admission, something she must consider as the farm starts to lose money. When she saw that the farm was for sale two years earlier, Stella dreamed of providing the same magic she experienced at the farm for everyone, regardless of who they were or what they could pay. In this way, Lovelight Farms represents how Stella worked toward her dreams while keeping her memories with her mother alive. Yet she often admits that she could not have made the farm successful without the help of others like Beckett and Layla. The community of Inglewild is also instrumental in keeping the farm going, and in this way, the farm is representative of the community as a whole and the support of others. Yet Lovelight Farms is also often symbolic of Stella’s feelings. When her world is in disarray, the farm begins to fall apart, with trees dying and pumpkins being smashed by the dozen. After she fights with Luka, Stella wanders through the pasture of dying trees, feeling like her emotions are represented by their black and gnarled branches. In many ways, Lovelight Farms is a symbolic extension of Stella as a whole, representing the dreams, feelings, and relationships that define her life.
Pine Air Fresheners
The first time Luka visited Stella after she bought Lovelight Farms, he brought her a pine-tree-scented car air freshener from the local gas station. He knew that the gesture was silly, but when he saw the look on Stella’s face after receiving the cardboard air freshener, he made a tradition of bringing her one every time he came to visit. Both Luka and Stella became attached to this tradition as they hid their feelings from one another. As Stella kept every air freshener that Luka ever brought her, Luka bought them in bulk and had recurring orders delivered to him so that he could always have them to make her smile. The pine air fresheners are symbolic of Luka and Stella’s relationship, as well as the intricacies and secrets behind it. While Luka never reveals that he doesn’t get the air fresheners from the gas station because he knows they make Stella happy, she never reveals that she has kept hundreds of them because she treasures them so much. These secrets parallel the lightheartedness of their friendship as well as the hidden feelings they share for one another. Only when they are both about to admit that they are in love do they discover the truth about their silly tradition and how much it means to both of them. The air fresheners also represent constancy and Luka’s commitment to be part of Stella’s life. Even after she rejects him, Luka is willing to give her all the air fresheners he has in bulk because he wants her to know that he will always be there for her, just as he always keeps up their tradition.
Inglewild, Maryland
The small town of Inglewild, Maryland, is not only the setting of the novel but also an important symbol that represents friendship, honesty, and the support of others. When Stella and her mother settled in Inglewild when she was young, it was the first place the small family put down roots and felt at home, in part because of the welcoming, tight-knit community there. Stella and her farm are frequently supported by the community, who not only patronize the farm but also go out of their way to ensure that it succeeds. When news of Evelyn’s visit reaches the town, the community goes all out to decorate the city, while many volunteer to help run and visit the farm, and the local schoolchildren make signs for its ice rink. Inglewild is also symbolic of information and honesty in the novel, especially as it regards Stella and Luka’s relationship. Many members of the community have a betting pool about when the two will get together, and when they are seen hand in hand in town, the news quickly spreads to everyone in Inglewild. Moreover, Inglewild is representative of found family for Stella. Having a complicated relationship with her surviving biological family, she feels like her community is a surrogate family. When describing her community, Stella shows her appreciation for it by saying,
Everyone is in everyone else’s business and you can’t leave your house without running into at least four people you know. But there’s always someone to ask me how I’m doing. And a helping hand when I need it. We’re a family. A strange one that you sometimes want an extended vacation from, but a family nonetheless (191).
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