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Chapter 64
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
As William stares at the photograph of Sarah, Julia realizes that Sarah “had never told her son about who she really was” because she had wanted to live a new life in America. William angrily demands that Julia tell him why she has come. She tries to explain but William insists that she has the wrong person. He says he doesn’t want to see or talk to her again, then leaves. Julia watches him go, stunned. Finally, Julia wearily rises to leave. She hears Zoë calling out behind her and starts to notice people on the street staring at her, but she doesn’t realize what is happening until Zoë points to her skirt, which is soaked in blood. Julia gasps, “the baby,” and loses consciousness.
Julia begins to worry that she has made a mistake in contacting William. She is taken aback by his anger and feels guilty for having so profoundly and suddenly altered his image of his mother. For the first time, Julia feels defeated. This chapter is also significant because of the implication that Julia’s near-miscarriage is, at least in part, a result of her having pushed her body to extremes in the context of her search for Sarah. This shows that delving headfirst into the past has both emotional and physical effects on Julia.
Themes
