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Chapter 42
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Noughts and Crosses, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism, Division, and Tragedy
Awareness and Privilege
Love, Lust, Power, and Violence
Friendship
Youth, Innocence, and Growing Up
Family
Summary
Analysis
It’s been two weeks since Mother’s “accident,” and Karl brings Minnie and Sephy to visit her nightly. Mother is better physically, but Sephy is not used to Mother’s behavior: these days, Mother is affectionate, emotional, and actually speaks. Immediately when Minnie and Sephy enter Mother’s room, Mother asks to hug them and kisses their cheeks. Sephy has to stop herself from wiping the kiss off. Mother brightly says that her daughters are the only people who care whether she lives or dies, and when Minnie points out that Mother’s friends would visit her, Mother says she doesn’t want her friends to know she’s here.
Sephy thrives on consistency, so Mother’s abrupt change in behavior is unsettling. It’s particularly difficult for Sephy because Mother is suddenly acting like she truly loves and appreciates her daughters—something Sephy didn’t believe was true before. However, note that Mother reads as somewhat desperate for any attention, and her daughters are a conveniently captive audience. Mother may feel powerless, but she knows she does have some power over her children.
Themes
Mother says she’ll see her friends when she leaves. But for now, she wants Minnie to bring her makeup bag and bring a bottle of champagne tomorrow—today is the first day of the rest of her life, and she’s celebrating. Minnie hesitates, and Mother’s smile seems to crack. Suddenly becoming somber, Mother tells Minnie and Sephy to never take chances so they never make mistakes. She made a mistake once because she was lonely—and Mr. Hadley has never stopped punishing her for it. So to avoid that, her girls should be perfect.
Mother’s choice to brush off suggestions to contact her friends implies that her relationships with her friends are, perhaps, not as strong as Minnie and Sephy might think. Minnie also seems to go into this conversation hoping that Mother might back off the alcohol after this experience. But instead, Mother makes it clear that she has no intention of giving it up. It’s what helps her feel good after the “mistake” she made (presumably, her affair).
Themes
