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44. 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
Emilia sits on the wagon, and while she appreciates it, she also feels guilty that others have to walk.
Although she deserves to ride because she is pregnant, Emilia is uncomfortable with any kind of preferential treatment.
Themes
Emilia has blackberry seeds stuck in her teeth from preserves taken from the manor house. These remind her of her father, and collecting berries for him as a child. Her mind then shifts to the farm her father sent her to in East Prussia, and the storage cellar there. Emilia reaches for her pregnant stomach.
Although Emilia often sets up walls of fantasy to protect her from dwelling on past traumas, sensory memories and associations transport her backwards in time, first to a positive memory, and then to a negative one that she quickly shuts down.
Themes
