Southwark Cathedral serves as the setting for Dickie’s funeral and one of the rare encounters between Edwina and Barbara. The cathedral’s scale makes it possible to keep the two women far from each other, turning the place into a practical buffer for a long-standing estrangement.

The Funeral

At the funeral, Lucas sits with his mother, Barbara. Edwina does not speak to him, and he makes no effort to seek her out. She leaves the wake early, feeling little involvement in a gathering that has the atmosphere of a workplace social event.

A Place of Separation

The cathedral is one of four occasions on which Edwina and Barbara physically meet over forty-five years; the other encounters take place at a matinée of Jesus Christ Superstar, in Russell & Bromley, and in court. At Southwark Cathedral, they are kept as far apart as possible. The account gives no further architectural description: the building matters chiefly for its capacity to accommodate the funeral while maintaining the distance between them.