Lorna’s necklace is a symbol of her childhood prior to her abduction and her true parentage and class. It also highlights Lorna’s ignorance of these things. While Lorna believes the necklace is made of glass, it is actually riddled with diamonds and worth a hundred thousand pounds as an heirloom of her ancient lineage. Sir Ensor Doone originally held the necklace in trust for Lorna, but he returns it on his deathbed, metaphorically freeing her from the Doone’s control. Once she is truly free from the Doones and living at Plover’s Barrow, she wears it, unknowingly stepping into her identity without the Doones to stifle her. It is the value of the piece which calls her identity into question, as the Doones would not be able to afford such a thing. The Counsellor steals the necklace, mirroring the Doones’s intentions of stealing Lorna’s fortune through marriage and thereby making her a Doone. Ultimately, the necklace is returned to Lorna after she has claimed her birthright as Lady Dugal, and her husband has destroyed Doone Glen and its men.

John considers himself to be a man at a relatively young age by virtue of his size and responsibilities. He considers fighting and his success in wrestling and shooting to be a key part in his masculinity.