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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Flames, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Grief and Human Connection
Nature vs. Human Effort
Sexism
Love and Respect
Summary
Analysis
Two days after Levi and Charlotte spread Levi and Charlotte’s mother’s ashes in Notley Fern Gorge, their mother comes back with ferns and moss sprouting from her body. Her reincarnation is similar to what happened to their grandmother, great-aunt, and cousin, along with around a third of their female ancestors: these women returned in recognizable forms after being cremated, though their bodies had changed to echo the environments in which their ashes were scattered. Each of them came back to complete a chore or deal to a grudge before disappearing.
The fact that Levi and Charlotte’s mother’s reincarnation is the very first thing to happen in the novel shows that this novel falls into the genre of magical realism: the reader can expect magical and supernatural events to occur within these characters’ everyday lives. The women’s reincarnated appearances emphasize that the family’s relationship to the natural world isn’t just a hobby or lifestyle but a deep connection that continues after death.
Themes
Upon returning, Levi and Charlotte’s mother spends her first two days showering and gazing at heirlooms. On the third day, she stops showering; on the fourth, she walks for a full day to Levi and Charlotte’s father’s house. She waits on his lawn, and by the time he finds her, the vegetation on her body is brown and dry. When he walks toward her, she rubs two of her ferns together to light a fire in her body, and he recoils as the flames surround her.
In the final days of her second life, Edith seems to prioritize her husband’s feelings and reactions over her own comfort. It’s clear that the purpose of her reincarnation has something to do with her relationship to him and that fire is a key part of their relationship, though because Edith performs her actions wordlessly, the exact meaning of this exchange is a mystery to the reader.
Themes
Though Levi finds this event upsetting, he claims to get over it quickly, but Charlotte’s behavior—she’s obsessed with nature and has screaming fits—worries him. He wonders what form she’ll take when she returns after death. When he can’t stop thinking about this, he resolves to bury Charlotte whole.
It's clear that Levi and Charlotte have a tense relationship, apparently due to their differences: Levi is reserved and unemotional while Charlotte overtly expresses how she’s feeling. Levi’s decision-making process suggests he values practical solutions, however extreme they may be, over understanding complex emotions.
Themes
