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Chapter Sixty-Nine
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Children of Virtue and Vengeance, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Systems of Oppression
Cycles of Violence
Tradition and History
Love vs. Duty
Summary
Analysis
Dozens of bombs explode and the cave collapses. Zélie tries to shout for Roën, but water fills her lungs. Boulders fall onto her legs and Zélie realizes that no one can save her. She can almost see Sky Mother when Mama and Baba appear in front of her with Mâzeli. Mâzeli and Zélie reach for each other. Zélie is ready to die, but Mâzeli gives her a vision. She sees the explosion happen and realizes that it was a trap. There are probably more traps aboveground and in Lagos. Zélie but fixates on Màri, Bimpe, and other Reapers to come. She realizes that her pain means she’s still alive and whispers an incantation. Her leg pulls free. Shadows pull Zélie up and all her pain and scars seem to fall away. Her head breaks the surface and she vows to live.
In this life-or-death moment, Zélie is able to put Roën’s angry request to act like a survivor and not a victim into practice. Though dying and going to the alafia with Mama, Baba, and Mâzeli might represent connecting with her past and with her loved ones, Zélie now understands the importance of not wallowing in her grief. If she does, she won’t be able to most effectively fight for the Reapers yet to come. It’s her responsibility to make sure that they have a world to live in that treats them with dignity, and only Zélie can make that happen.
Themes
