Setting

Time setting

Although the time setting of the events in the short story “Eastmouth” by Alison Moore is not made clear, the story is probably meant to be read as contemporary or from the last few decades. This is indicated by several elements: Peter and Sonia being a couple at university (ll. 8-9), Sonia wanting to go to Las Vegas instead of settling down, and Sonia’s views that the values and aesthetic in Eastmouth are old-fashioned.

Peter and Sonia arrive in Eastmouth on a Friday: “The following day is Saturday” (l. 88). The story ends on a Sunday: “She realises that it’s Sunday” (l. 167). The events, therefore, unfold over one weekend.

Physical setting

The story is set in a fictional town, Eastmouth, which is located on England’s south coast (l. 41). The words “east” and “mouth” are suggestive and symbolic of Sonia being trapped in Eastmouth as if swallowed by a mouth that prevents her from travelling west, to Las Vegas.

The town itself is a typical, quiet, coastal town; its promenade reminds Sonia of the seaside resorts she visited as a child: “Sonia stands on the slabs of the promenade, looking out across the pebbly beach. It is like so many of the seaside resorts from her childhood” (ll. 1-2). However, the town itself seems to be stuck in time: “He is beaming, cheerful when he says, ‘Nothing changes’ ” (l. 28). This is also subtly suggested when Peter orders without looking at the menu, implying that the menu also never changes (l. 129). The town is also isolated from the rest of the world, as suggested by descriptions such as “The visibility is poor. ...