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Chapter Twenty-Three
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Children of Blood and Bone, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Prejudice and Inequality
Duty to Family vs. Self
Faith and Tradition
Cycles of Violence
Summary
Analysis
Inan wanders through Chândomblé, experiencing visions of Lekan’s life. He enters the room decorated with murals of the gods and is shocked by their beauty. Saran always said that the gods were weak and immaterial, but here they appear beautiful and strong.
Because of his fear and hatred, Saran cast the divîners as evil and dangerous, lacking morality and culture. That casting makes it easier for Saran to oppress them. However, Inan begins to see otherwise. He also sees that the stories and beauty associated with the gods are part of what made the divîners powerful.
Themes
When he comes to the portrait of Orí, the god of mind, spirit, and dreams, Inan realizes that this is his patron god. He shouts at the portrait in anger, vowing that his magic will be magic’s undoing. More committed than ever to fighting magic, he closes his eyes and gives in to his own powers.
The divîners’ traditions offers strength and a sense of belonging, but Inan’s hatred of runs so deep that he rejects that possibility.
Themes
