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Crossing: Hamstead Heath
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in NW, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Class Identity and Social Mobility
Geography and Human Connection
Sex and Relationships
Altruism
Summary
Analysis
Natalie tries to be alone, but Nathan keeps following her. Nathan insists he’s not a bad person. Natalie asks about the girl in the headscarf Nathan talked to earlier and if it was Shar from Brayton. Nathan gets defensive and says that the woman he knows now doesn’t go by Shar and isn’t someone he knew from Brayton. Natalie asks if Nathan is working as a pimp for the girls he spoke to, but Nathan says all she needs to know is that the girls have his back and he has theirs. Natalie keeps asking questions, but Nathan keeps refusing to answer.
Nathan doesn’t deny Natalie’s question, suggesting that those two women from before (one of whom might be Shar) do indeed do some sort of sex work for him. The novel generally keeps a neutral tone and doesn’t judge the characters’ actions. It’s possible that Nathan is deceiving himself by claiming that he watches out for his women, but it’s also true that positions at traditional jobs (like Natalie’s pupillage, where she was sexually harassed) come with their own risks and challenges.
Themes
