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Part 1: 7 Apr, 1946
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Literature and Connection
Family, Parenting, and Legitimacy
War, Hunger, and Humanity
Women, Marriage, and Work
Summary
Analysis
A woman named Clara Saussey writes to Juliet about her experience with the Literary Society. She says that she read from her own book of recipes and it was a disaster. She read about roasting pigs and about cakes, and the audience threatened her. The following day, Eben visited to remind Clara that most of the Society members only had turnips or potatoes to eat, but Clara refused to forgive them for their rudeness. She insists that her recipes were "poetry in a pan" and wants Juliet to make it clear that the Society only began because of the occupation.
Clara's assessment of the Society falls more in line with Adelaide's; she wants to show Juliet that the Society isn't as welcoming as others make it out to be. However, this is because Clara herself offended the group by refusing to read the room and not read about food during a time when nearly everyone was starving, suggesting that Clara is somewhat self-centered.
Themes
