The stone wall separating England from Faerie is at the heart of the novel. It’s described as “old, built of rough, square lumps of hewn granite, and it comes from the woods and goes back to the woods once more” (3). It’s dominant enough to give the town Wall its name, which sets up the town as a gatekeeper and steward of this sacred place. There is a constant rotation of men (often one young and one old, representing another kind of duality and balance) guarding the only entrance between worlds. Here, they stand as a microcosmic metaphor for the town itself; like the guardsmen who oversee the entranceway, Wall itself stands guard over the gate against the rest of England and the known world.

In its original conception, Stardust was simply going to be titled Wall. While the idea expanded into something greater than its initial inspiration, this illustrates how integral both incarnations of the wall—physical structure and township—are to the novel. The concept of a gateway between worlds is not a new one; thresholds have long been sacred places in a range of world mythologies, something we still see today in practices like hanging mistletoe above a doorway.