Content Warning: The section of the guide includes discussion of sexual violence and death.

The central component to the conflict between Ann and Loomis is the struggle for power and control. While Ann does her best to get along with Loomis—forgiving him repeatedly for his increasingly controlling behavior and even for sexually assaulting her—Loomis constantly tries to dominate and control Ann.

Several moments in the novel emphasize Loomis’s need to control every aspect of his life as well as Ann’s. The first time, Loomis scolds Ann for ignoring the field while she cares for him in his illness. Then, he angrily tells Ann that she needs to plant beets and wheat, ignoring the hard work she has put into the field and her desire to grow as much corn as she can in an effort to ensure that both they and the animals survive the winter. Each time, Ann excuses his anger, noting how “he ha[s] begun thinking about [the valley] as his, too. […] That [i]s the change. And so he consider[s] the valley as much his as [hers]. [She will] have to get used to the idea” (143). Loomis’s words and anger make Ann “uneasy,” but she excuses it each time before ultimately acknowledging that Loomis has an incessant need for power and control.