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Part 2: 26 Aug, 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 Sophie that Sidney's sub-editor has visited to copy the letters and they're now safe in Isola's biscuit tin. Juliet says that she was calm the day they discovered Billee Bee, but that evening, she began to get nervous. Dawsey and Remy stopped to check in on Juliet. Juliet didn't find it particularly comforting. She wonders if Remy is homesick for France. Juliet's been reading an article by another political prisoner about how difficult it is for camp survivors to move on, especially since France as a whole doesn't want to talk about their experiences. The writer is discovering that the only way to move on is for survivors to speak to each other, and Juliet wonders if Remy might benefit from talking to other survivors.
Though Juliet later characterizes her musings about Remy's healing process as heartless and cruel, it's also worth noting that the article she's reading acknowledges the power of stories and doesn't want to censor them. In this way, this article reinforces the novel's sense of the importance of literature and stories, both spoken and published. The writer's suggestion also implies that it's only through facing what happened that survivors can move on and heal.
Themes
Juliet mentions that Mr. Dilwyn has returned to the island. She's putting off making the appointment to talk about adopting Kit and fears he won't agree. She asks if Sophie and Dominic will act as character references, and shares Mr. Dilwyn's plan to restore Lord Ambrose's house and market it as a holiday rental. This would give Kit some income.
Juliet's nervousness about trying to adopt Kit indicates that going through formal channels to create a family is no simple task; there are emotions involved that could make the whole thing impossible. Note too that Juliet might seem less suitable given that she's unmarried.
Themes
Juliet says too that this afternoon, the Benoit sisters invited Juliet and Kit for tea. The invitation was odd; they asked if Kit liked rituals. Juliet checked with Eben before accepting. He laughed and said the sisters were safe and often hosted Elizabeth and Jane. The sisters are identical, 80-year-old twins, and they're very charming. As soon as they'd all finished their tea, they said that Kit is too young, but asked Juliet if she'd participate. Juliet had no idea what was going on. The sisters went on to pull out darts and to reveal a wall panel with a full-page newspaper portrait of the Duchess of Windsor. The twins had adored the Prince of Wales and resented the Duchess for marrying him. Juliet managed to throw three darts into the Duchess's head.
The Duchess of Windsor is Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced woman who, in the mid-1930s, began a relationship with the Prince of Wales. This caused a number of scandals as divorced people were excluded from court, and the Prince of Wales wanted to marry her after he assumed the throne. In the end, he had to abdicate as king and chose his lover over his family and England. The Benoit sisters likely see this as a betrayal of the greater English community, hence their emotions about the whole thing.
Themes
