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Chapter Thirty-Five
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
Zélie feels like she’s breathing mud as she looks at Inan. She tries to summon her rage as Inan commands his soldiers to stand down. However, General Jokôye appears behind him with Nehanda. Jokôye releases majacite gas and blows it toward the Iyika. Jahi creates a cyclone in response and blows Inan and the soldiers off their feet. Amari slams Zélie’s hand onto the door and Zélie asks Lekan for help in Yoruba. As Jahi struggles to maintain his wind and Nehanda’s tîtáns arrive, Zélie discovers the right incantation and the wall opens. She pushes everyone through and the soldiers charge. The wall closes on the arm of the soldier in front.
Though Zélie does experience a potentially dangerous emotional reaction to seeing Inan here, it’s important to commend her for reacting as well as she does—feeling like she’s having trouble breathing doesn’t stop her from being able to enter the scroll room. This suggests that Zélie is beginning to heal some from the trauma Inan put her through. Importantly, she’s able to do this because she’s now part of a community that she knows needs her support.
Themes
