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9. Numbers
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
In May, 1944, Marie-Laure goes to the bakery to pick up her usual loaf of bread. At the bakery, Madame Ruelle starts crying, touches Marie-Laure’s face, and tells her, “You amazing child.” She tells Marie-Laure to tell Etienne, “The mermaids have bleached hair.” Marie-Laure goes home and passes on this message: Etienne understands that it means the Allied powers are planning to invade Northern France within a week.
The novel has alternated between chapters set in the “present”—August of 1944, and the “past”—the years leading up to this time. Now, the two timeframes are growing closer—soon they’ll be one timeline, proceeding in chronological order (but still jumping among different characters and settings).
Themes
