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Chapter 40
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Sarah’s Key, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Remembrance and History
The Power of Silence
Guilt
Identity
Bravery
The Limits of Love
Summary
Analysis
From this point on, all chapters focus on Julia’s storyline. At the doctor’s office, Julia makes several appointments, though for what is not specified. She thinks about her tender conversation with Bertrand the night before, when he told her all she “had always dreamed of hearing him say.” She also thinks about Isabelle, who has encouraged her to make whatever decision about the pregnancy she feels is best for her. Julia admits to herself that she desperately wants to have the baby. When she gets home, Julia finds a large envelope on her desk and opens it to find a file where she immediately notices the word “Sarah.”
Julia’s narrative takes over at this point in the novel. This is interesting on a formal level because it suggests that there are still secrets about Sarah’s life that will never be answered, silences that will never be filled. This chapter is important because Julia has finally made a decision about her pregnancy; though the text is not entirely clear, it seems likely that Julia has decided to have an abortion. Her inability to emotionally connect with Bertrand, despite him finally saying all the right things, suggests that the growing divide in her marriage may be unbridgeable.
Themes
