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Part 2: 24 May, 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
Juliet tells Sidney about Elizabeth's cottage. It's large with lots of windows, which means that Juliet is often distracted watching the sea. Elizabeth's possessions are fascinating, especially her books and her collections of feathers, shells, and flowers. She also has a portrait of her as a child that Sir Ambrose painted. Sir Ambrose's big house is just up the drive. Eben and Eli are planting new trees around it to replace those that were cut down for firewood.
Planting new trees gives the islanders a tangible way to begin to recover and rebuild after the war by returning the island to its former wooded state. Again, the sea offers Juliet a way to distract herself from her troubles in London; instead, she can throw herself into her work and her friends in Guernsey.
Themes
Eben, Eli, Dawsey, and Isola have taken Juliet all around the island. The architecture is impressive and varied. St. Peter Port is drab now, but it looks more alive than London does. Kit shows Juliet butterflies and flowers, and carries a box of secret treasures everywhere. Juliet has no idea what's in it but feels she can't ask.
Comparing St. Peter Port to London indicates that different English cities are healing at different rates after the war. This is because they experienced the war very differently and suffered different types of trauma.
Themes
