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111. Joana
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 comes to greet Emilia. She still calls him her “knight.” He takes the baby and compliments her, saying the baby has Emilia’s eyes and nose. He tells her, “Kind of incredible. She is you, she is your mother, your father, your country.” He kisses the baby and hands her back to Emilia, who is ready to accept her role as a mother.
Emilia’s fantasy of Florian as a protective knight remains intact. Florian helps explain that, as a survivor, Emilia has the opportunity to carry on the legacy of her family and her country. Her daughter is not only a physical manifestation of Emilia’s rejection of her trauma, but a symbol of a brighter future, in which the past can live on through memory.
Themes
