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9. The Arrest of Etienne LeBlanc
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in All the Light We Cannot See, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
World War II, the Nazis, and the French Resistance
Interconnectedness and Separation
Fate, Duty, and Free Will
Family
Science and “Ways of Seeing”
Summary
Analysis
Marie-Laure wakes up and hears guns firing. She goes to see if Etienne has returned—he hasn’t. Then, she goes to eat some breakfast—the loaf of bread Madame Ruelle gave Etienne yesterday. Marie-Laure picks up the model of the house with the Sea of Flames inside it, and hides it under her pillow.
Etienne had been becoming a sort of surrogate father for Marie-Laure, but now it seems that he’s been snatched from her life, just as Daniel was. All this seems to fit in with the curse of the Sea of Flames, lending it more power in Marie-Laure’s mind.
Themes
In the afternoon of August 7, Marie-Laure hears a knock downstairs. Without unlocking the door, she asks who is there—it’s Claude Levitte. Claude explains that Marie-Laure needs to leave “absolutely everything behind” and come with him immediately—all French men are being sent to prison, and all women and children are being sent to the bomb shelters. Marie-Laure refuses to leave her house. At first, Claude tries to convince her to leave, but then he gives up. As he walks away from the house, Marie-Laure wonders if he was telling the truth.
It’s not clear to us if Claude is telling the truth or not, but in either case it’s impressive that Marie-Laure doesn’t give in to him. Marie-Laure is extraordinarily tough and focused—when she knows what she wants to do, she does it. This is an admirable quality, especially at a time when all too many people obeyed orders simply because they were good at doing as they were told.
Themes
