Beyond That, the Sea

Ethan and Nancy Gregory’s older son, William is a couple years older than Bea and is quickly intrigued by the silent, mysterious English girl who comes to live with his family. William and Bea get along well from the beginning, and the novel hints early on that their relationship will develop into something more than friendship.

William is an intense, sometimes brooding character. He has an independent streak and dreams of doing much more with his life than his abilities and circumstances allow for. He’s eventually unable to realize most of what he’d hoped for, partly because of a “melancholy” he shares with his father that prevents him from accepting the hand he has been dealt. William can’t enlist in the war because it ends before he’s of age, he’s forced to attend a university he doesn’t want to, as all other options disappear, he must let go of a girl he loves when Bea returns to England, and he’s forced into a dead-end job with no opportunities for travel and adventure when he has an unplanned child early in life and eventually marries and settles down.

William’s discontent follows him throughout his life, as he can’t let go of the past and constantly pines after his childhood dreams. He remains in love with Bea his entire life, though what he’s holding onto is more an idea from the past than a real person, and when the two meet in London, it becomes evident that their relationship has no real future. His general dissatisfaction with his life affects his relationship with his wife, Rose, and their marriage slowly deteriorates into something without much connection or intimacy. William represents the despair of unfulfilled dreams; his death is thus symbolic and necessary for other characters to move on with their lives.

Ethan and Nancy Gregory’s younger son, Gerald is two years younger than Bea and, like William, is taken with her from the moment she arrives in their house. Unlike his brother, Gerald is open with his affection from the beginning, and his feelings for Bea are evident to all. Despite Bea’s initial attraction to William, the novel hints from the beginning that Gerald suits her better than William, and eventually she marries Gerald when she returns to the US to make it her home.

Gerald contrasts William in every way possible. While William has big dreams, Gerald realizes all of them, from travel to doing impactful work. Part of this stems from Gerald’s ability to accept his lot in life and make the most of it, a quality he shares with Bea. He’s laid-back, easygoing, and nonjudgmental, making it easy for Bea to confide in him even when they’re children. As adults, Gerald and Bea end up in the same line of work, teaching and working with children.

While William represents unfulfilled dreams, Gerald symbolizes the joy that one can find in real life. Years pass before he and Bea find their way back to each other. During this time, however, neither is pining away or lost in despair; they date other people and do significant work in their own time. When they come together, it’s with a recognition that they genuinely like and admire each other’s characters and company. Gerald and Bea’s relationship is based on real compatibility, love, and respect; thus, unlike her relationship with William, their relationship sees a real future. Significantly, Gerald and Bea reclaim the house in Maine and ensure that future generations of Gregorys can enjoy the place, just as they do.

Bea’s birth mother in England, Millie Thompson, and her foster mother in the US, Nancy Gregory, are stark opposites of each other. Millie comes from a working-class background, holding down two jobs during the war to take care of herself and Reginald. Nancy, on the other hand, comes from a wealthy family, and despite the fact that her lifestyle changes after marrying Ethan, she’s primarily a homemaker. Nancy differs from Millie in both appearance and mannerisms. She’s warm, open, and chatty, something that Bea isn’t initially used to. Despite this, Bea, who was already drifting away from her mother when she left England, forms a deep bond with Nancy almost immediately.

Nancy’s openness contrasts with not just Millie but also her husband, Ethan, and their relationship is sometimes strained as a result. Nevertheless, Nancy deeply misses Ethan after he passes away, visiting his grave every single day and never remarrying. The years between Ethan’s and William’s deaths are difficult for Nancy, who grows more forgetful and fearful over time. However, upon William’s death and the forced alone time she experiences after Gerald briefly moves away from work, she quickly adapts to her new life.

Like Nancy, Millie loses her husband relatively early in life; however, unlike Nancy, Millie remarries multiple times, which is one source of the tension between her and Bea. Millie resents Nancy’s presence in Bea’s life and seeks to erase her daughter’s time in the US from her memory. Unfortunately, her tendency to do so, stemming from a desire to reclaim her daughter for herself, only ends up driving more of a wedge between them.

Once Millie accepts the role that Nancy and the Gregorys played in Bea’s life, the rift between herself and Bea starts to heal. She allows and even encourages Bea to reconnect with and reminisce about the Gregorys, and Bea and Millie openly talk about and heal their own relationship. In time, Millie and Nancy also begin communicating, and Nancy even visits London to attend Millie’s wedding.

Both Millie and Nancy are significant presences in Bea’s life, and despite their many differences, they share some uncanny similarities. Both lose their husbands early in life, though they respond differently. Both are forced to adapt to a life they never expected for themselves and do so admirably over time. Eventually, both reunite with the people and places dearest to them—Millie with Bea, as mother and daughter heal their relationship, and Nancy with her family home in Maine, when Gerald and Bea eventually buy it back.