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Chapter 56
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
Julia is thrilled to be reunited with Charla. In her sister’s New York City apartment, Julia explains Sarah’s story in full. As soon as the story is finished, Charla bolts to the phone and asks the operator for information on Richard Rainsferd. She receives an address and a phone number in Connecticut. Charla then calls the phone number. Mrs. Rainsferd is not at home but Charla speaks with a nurse who attends to Richard, who is ailing and bedridden. “So what do I do?” Julia asks. “I just go there?” Charla laughs and responds, “You got any other idea?”
Charla’s eagerness and efficiency make her easy to like as a character. The ease with which Charla locates the Rainsferds parallels the ease with which Franck Lévy was able to discover the fates of the Starzynskis. This suggests that historical answers are often readily available, and that it is a lack of investment and care that prevents people from learning about the past, rather than practical obstacles.
Themes
