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106. Emilia
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Salt to the Sea, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Agency, Willpower, and Fate
Storytelling and Fantasy
Memory and Survival
Family and Community vs. Selfishness
Summary
Analysis
Florian, Klaus, and the Poet approach the officers. A soldier asks Klaus about his relationship to Florian and the Poet, and Klaus calls Florian his uncle, and the Poet his Opi, or grandfather. The soldier notices Florian’s wound and asks to see his papers, which pass inspection.
Florian and the Poet pretend to be related to each other and Klaus, because they know that will improve their chances of boarding a ship. Florian also flaunts his wound because he hopes it will make him seem weaker and therefore worthy of preferential treatment.
Themes
Before they go to the next inspection point, Eva appears, carrying the Poet’s carpetbag and Joana’s suitcase. She managed to get passage on a different ship and says her goodbyes, unsentimentally asking Florian to make sure Joana gets her bag, as Joana was the “only one of you that I liked. Sorry.”
Although Eva often claims she does not care about her fellow travelers, and she prioritized finding her belongings over staying with the group, the fact that she returned their belongings to them demonstrates she did care about them somewhat.
Themes
