What is the importance of rivers in the novel, The Voyage Out?

The river represents the current of change and the irreversibility of time. At pivotal moments in the plot, characters look at rivers, feeling themselves swept along with the same speed and inevitability. For example, when Rachel and Hewet are standing together on the steamer, having just decided their engagement and talked with Helen about their future life, they stand in silence as "Beneath them the smooth black water slipped away very fast and silently" (364-365). They are being swept along, and they are not entirely sure of the final destination. However, they are conscious of the movement and the inability to fight against the current.