Annotate With Sara

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An easy symbol to annotate and analyze in The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is stones. A multifaceted motif in the novel, stones come up in many ways: in the landscape, in Sybil’s last name, and as a codeword for keeping secrets. Sybil also mentions two books in her letters with the word stone in their titles: Stoner and Cutting for Stone.

Thematically, the heavy repetition of the word stone speaks to the heaviness of the grief Sybil is weighed down by. The various tangible stones (in the landscape) and intangible stones (her name, the secrets) all have an immense, solid presence in her life.

How to Annotate Stones in The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

You’ll need 33 tabs to annotate each mention of stones and rocks in the novel. Most of the mentions are Sybil’s last name Stone, which appears in many letters in her headers and in her signature lines.

1. p 3, letter to Felix dated June 2, 2012
   • last name
2. p 7, letter to Ann Patchett dated June 2, 2012
   • distance
3. p 13, letter from Harry Landy dated July 1, 2012
   • secrets
4. p 14, letter from Felix July 18, 2012
   • last name
5. p 17, letter to Rosalie August 10, 2012
   • part of a book title
6. p 24-25 letter to Alex Toole September 7, 2012
   • last name
7. p 56 unsent letter May 13, 2013
   • last name
8. p 58 letter to editor June 10, 2013
   • last name
9. p 64 letter to Felix December 27, 2013
   • last name
10. p 79 letter to Basam July 5, 2014
    • last name
11. p 85 letter from Harry August 1, 2014
    • secrets
12. p 96 unsent letter December 14, 2014
    • stones in path
13. p 107 letter to Felix February 18, 2015
    • last name
14. p 111 letter from Dean May 30, 2015
    • stones in path
15. p 112 letter from Dean May 30, 2015
    • gravestones and secrets
16. p 127 letter to Rosalie September 12, 2015
    • rock in the landscape
17. p 129 email to Henrietta September 21, 2015
    • last name
18. p 142 email to James December 28, 2015
    1. “Sybil Stone becomes a Democrat. That should be the title of my memoirs.”
19. p 158 letter to Felix July 6, 2016
    • last name
20. p 167 letter to Rosalie October 1, 2016
    • rock climbing documentary
21. p 171 letter to Henrietta January 6, 2017
    • last name
22. p 173 letter to Henrietta January 6, 2017
    • last name
23. p 174 letter to Diana Gabaldon February 2, 2017
    • another book title
24. p 190 letter to Felix May 31, 2017
    • last name
25. p 193 letter from Hattie June 11, 2017
    • last name
26. p 202 letter to Felix October 3, 2017
    • last name
27. p 231 letter to Felix May 14, 2018
    • last name
28. p 260 letter to Theodore Lűbeck May 11, 2019
    • stone in the landscape
29. p 262 letter to Theodore Lűbeck May 11, 2019
    • underwater stones
30. p 267 unsent letter May 29, 2019
    • stone wall
31. p 270 letter from Felix August 8, 2019
    • last name
32. p 280 letter to Dean June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September
    • secrets