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Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Farming of Bones, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Power of Memory
Dreams vs. Reality
Language and Identity
Death, Grief, and Hope
Home, Family, and Belonging
Summary
Analysis
Amabelle describes a cave she visited with Sebastien, which is half a day’s walk away from their homes. Despite the cave’s hidden location, it always looks as if there is a supernatural light inside of the cave. Amabelle believes that the radiant cave inspires people to “celebrate” themselves. She points out that there is an innate knowledge in “the emptiness” of one’s “bones” that, like the cave, teaches a person how to celebrate.
The cave that Amabelle describes is a symbol of hope. Although the cave is empty—mirroring the feeling of being hollowed out by grief or loss—a light still shines out of it. Just as survivors live on without their loved ones when they die, the cave remains lit without any occupants. Amabelle’s description emphasizes how hope can still emerge from the desolation of grief.
Themes
Amabelle then claims that the light she saw in the cave is the “same kind of light” she wishes to see shining “on the grave of [her] parents.” After the events of the last few days, however, she also wishes this light to shine for “both Joël and Rafael.”
Amabelle’s wish to have light shine for her lost parents, Joël, and Rafael illustrates how she is gradually becoming more hopeful, despite the grief and trauma of her life. Whereas before, her life was full of endless and repetitive nightmares, she now acknowledges that light—a symbol of hope—can also enter into her memories of her lost loved ones.
Themes
