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Chapter 32
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Station Eleven, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Death and Survival
Faith and Fate
Civilization
Memory
Art
Summary
Analysis
In the interview with François, Kirsten asks if he still has the obituary, which was in the second-to-last edition of the New York Times. François has it, but the CPR man (Jeevan) is unnamed in the publication. Kirsten continues the story of that evening, saying that the man spoke to her and helped her find her babysitter (Tanya). This woman, whose name Kirsten can’t remember, gave Kirsten the glass paperweight, which she still carries with her because she thinks it’s beautiful.
In the interview, François confirms that Jeevan’s name has not been recorded. Kirsten carries the paperweight because she received it the night of Arthur’s death, giving it meaning and memory for her, but mostly she carries it with her because she thinks it is beautiful. Though impractical in the sense that it serves no purpose directly related to surviving, simply carrying around a beautiful object helps give Kirsten the strength to maintain her humanity and to live a life of depth in the post-collapse world.
Themes
Kirsten says that what happened next she doesn’t remember, but knows because her brother Peter told her. When the woman (Tanya) couldn’t reach their parents, she called Peter and ended up dropping Kirsten off at home with him. Kirsten never saw her parents again, and she figures they must have been some of the very first to die from the epidemic. At first, Kirsten and her brother just waited for their parents to come back.
Again we see a major lapse in Kirsten’s memory, only filled in by the support of her brother. Though she doesn’t remember getting home that night, she knows that she never saw her parents ever again. The near complete lack of memories of her parents suggests that her obsession with Arthur Leander might be filling that parental gap.
Themes
