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Chapter 21: Stella
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Five Feet Apart, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Sacrifice
Death, Grief, and Guilt
Risk and Consequences
Survival, Terminal Illness, and Hope
Hardship and Family Dynamics
Summary
Analysis
Will sits in his room with his things packed waiting for Barb to come get him, but she doesn’t come all day. In his mind, Will keeps replaying the moment Stella shoved him away from her. He decides that he needs to leave the hospital before he does any more damage, so he calls an Uber. In the hospital lobby, he sees Stella on the other side of the glass. He goes out to meet her, and she says that she’s going to the park to see the lights. Will argues at first, but decides to go with her.
Barb told Will he would be transferred to another hospital, but since Poe died she seems to have forgotten about it. Going to see the lights is important to Stella because she used to see them with Abby every year. This is the first holiday season Stella has gone through without Abby. Will and Stella aren’t allowed to leave the hospital, and it will be a dangerous walk since their lungs are weak. However, Stella has a newfound motivation to take the risk. She believes the enjoyment of spending time with Will and seeing the lights will outweigh any possible consequences.
Themes
Will sees something new in Stella. She seems wild and excited. The park is two miles away, and it’s dark and freezing cold outside. Stella and Will try to keep five feet between them as they walk, but they come closer at moments. They hold hands through gloves. Will has a strong urge to kiss Stella but he refrains. Exhausted, Stella wants to stop at a frozen-over pond before they get to the park. She steps onto the ice, which makes Will nervous, but he steps on after her. He thinks, “If this is all we get, then let’s take it.”
Though Stella’s attitude about her illness has been shifting over the course of the novel, Poe’s death solidifies a change in her—this willingness to embrace risk in order to chase happiness is the new quality that Will sees in her. It’s also evident in Stella’s willingness to be physically closer to Will. Will’s sentiment, “If this is all we get, then let’s take it,” sums up how he and Stella are both thinking at the moment. They feel that since they know they’re going to die young, they might as well spend their time living life to the fullest.
Themes
