Time
Time is essential in the novel and its presence is manifested in a variety of ways. As the general temporal location of events, the present is determined by the eruption of the war in the lives of the characters and is understood, in that context, as a rupture between the past and the future: "vacuum as to future was offset by vacuum as to past."[9]
Time also appears foregrounded in an existential sense, particularly in relation to Stella and Roderick. Stella is constantly conflicted by "the fatal connection between the past and the future having broken before her time. It had been Stella, her generation, who had broken the link".[10] Once he learns he will inherit Mount Morris, Roderick appears often planning, discussing or simply musing over his own future at the house. Finally, the novel closes with a projection into the future after Louie's son is born and the war is over: "the projected English future and the rejected Irish future [are] both figured as pacific in the repeated figure of the three swans."[11]
Finally, time is foregrounded in the materialisation of daily life events. Characters are usually pressed for time in the streets and, particularly for those involved in espionage and plotting activities, every minute is essential. Consequently, we may find several passages in which a number of characters (Stella, Harrison, Louie and Roderick among others) express their reluctance to waste their time or are heard discussing that concept. One should also note that time is meticulously measured during Stella's meetings with Harrison.
Identity
The novel "works towards an affirmation of the undecidability of identity," which is explored from several angles.[12] Evidently, every character that plays a role as a spy in the novel presents at least a two-sided identity. Additionally, Stella and Louie are painstakingly concerned with their self-image and constantly wonder how others perceive them: the novel "is governed by an almost Berkeleyan metaphysics, in which you are what you are perceived to be."[13] On his part, Roderick changes and becomes more mature and responsible after inheriting Mount Morris. Stella's exploration of Robert's identity, one of the narrative pillars of the plot, remains open until immediately before his death, where he finally unveils his political views and philosophy of life.
Freedom
Stella's anxiety about her own freedom determines much of her actions and thoughts; coaxed by Harrison to expose Robert, she is trapped in a plot that encroaches upon her freedom whether she decides to give him away or not. Besides, Robert's fascist views on freedom negate the possibility of individual freedom: “‘Who could want to be free when they can be strong? Freedom, what a slaves’ yammer!... We must have law⎯if necessary let it break us’.”[14]
Nation
The idea of Britain becomes prominent (usually in connection with the war) mostly when seen from outside the countryside. The characters that do leave the city to go either to Mount Morris, in Ireland, or to Holme Dene, in the Midlands, think of their country in rather gloomy terms. Except for reports provided by the narration, the consequences of the war upon the country are seen chiefly mainly from the outside too. On the surface, London during the Blitz is not particularly characterised by strong displays of nationalism; instead, life the present is celebrated by the imminence of the possibility of being killed during the bombings. However, the actions of the two main male characters seem to be motivated by their relationship with the nation. While Harrison tries to put an end to Robert's act of treason to the country, the latter despises nationalism and national pride as a reason to fight the war: “‘what do you mean? Country?⎯there are no more countries left; nothing but names.”[15]
Knowing/knowledge
The novel poses general questions such as whether or not one can know somebody completely and whether two people can know a third person in exactly the same way, as illustrated by the triangle Stella-Robert-Harrison. Specifically, one of the main tensions in the book lies in the degree of knowledge that each of the male characters may or may not have about the other, using Stella as intermediary: "‘If you mean Robert,’ she flashed out, "he doesn’t know you’."[16] As expected, propaganda plays an essential role in the book, as well as the disclosure of the concealed identities of the spies and intelligence agents. On her part, Stella is also concerned by her progressive detachment from her son Roderick and begins wondering if she in fact knows him as she thinks she does.
Roderick is determined throughout the narration to unbury the real story of Victor’s adultery, Cousin Francis’ actual reason for visiting Britain and Nettie's motivation to check herself in at Wisteria Lodge.
Narratives
In The Heat of the Day "everyone seems trapped in someone's else's story."[17] Relationships of any type become dependent on language, on what is talked about and how: "The ‘story’ which Harrison tells Stella about Robert, and then the stories which this novel tells us about what both Stella and Harrison do with that story have their direct public consequences."[18] Indirect language and code are often used, as is to be expected in a novel involving [espionage]. "White information and propaganda,”[19] two different forms of telling, are discussed as to the way they are produced and consumed by Louie and Connie. Additionally, the war in London gains a fictitious dimension, seen "as story-telling"[20] and as if "out of a thriller.”[21]
Stella becomes especially sensitive towards the way certain events are narrated, such as her divorce. "Bowen makes it very clear that it is not the author of the Heat of the Day who is constructing these two pasts, but Stella herself.”[22] She also emphasises that story-telling is the mechanism we have to perceive and remember the past: “‘Whoever’s the story had been, I let it be mine. I let it ride, and more⎯it came to be my story, and I stuck to it’.”[23] One of the strongest arguments Robert uses to justify his act of treachery is a critique of public and official discourses: “Don’t you understand all that nation-related language is dead currency?”[15]
Place
Stella does not settle down in a specific flat, but moves from one to another, which symbolises the fleetingness of her life. Descriptions of her flats often seem be a reflection of her attitude at given moments: before receiving a crucial visit from Harrison, "she had left the street door unlatched and the door of her flat, at the head of the stairs, ajar."[24] Like a good mysterious spy, "Harrison himself has no address."[25]
Houses are described, in contrast to Stella's London flats, as removed and self-contained locations that provide perspective to events happening in London. Holme Dene, Robert's family house in the Midlands, gives off an aura of mystery and deceit: "though antique in appearance, [it] was not actually old. The oak beams, to be perfectly honest, were imitations."[26] Moreover, it is dominated by a rigid hierarchy headed by Robert's mother: it was "Mrs. Kelway’s house."[27] Finally, in the environment of the "man-eating house"[8] Robert's masculinity is fetishised due to the fact that he is the only son and male family member left alive (except for his young nephew). "Contrasted to Holme Dene is the traditional sanctity and loveliness of Mount Morris" [28] Roderick inherits Mount Morris, a country house in Ireland from which Stella is told about an important advance of the British army: "‘Montgomery is through!... It’s the war turning’."[29]
London. The action in the novel is located in London for the most part, which is contrasted by some of the characters’ visits to the countryside. Material destruction or detailed descriptions of the urban landscape are generally absent. Nonetheless, Louie, like many other characters, is stuck in the city due to the current events: "She now… never left London, having been left with no place to go."[30]
War
Even though events occur mainly during World War II, the violence of war is usually absent from the narration: "two years after the Blitz, Londoners, no longer traumatised by nightly raids, were growing acclimatised to ruin."[31] Rather than a period of material destruction, war functions instead as a circumstance that alters normality in people's lives. Stella confesses to Robert: "‘we are friends of circumstance⎯war, this isolation, this atmosphere in which everything goes on and nothing’s said."[32] There are, however, some isolated passages that deal with the bombings of London: "Never had any season been more felt… Out of mists of morning charred by the smoke from ruins each day rose to a height of unmisty glitter; between the last of sunset and first note of the siren the darkening glassy tenseness of evening was drawn fine."[33]
