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Part 2: 5 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
Sidney sends a telegram to Juliet, asking if Kit would like a bagpipe. Juliet writes back that she doesn't want one, but her work is going well. She believes that biographies should be written within a generation of the subject's life, especially given what she's been able to learn about Elizabeth from people who knew her. Juliet feels as though Elizabeth is a true friend.
Juliet's mention that she herself doesn't want the bagpipes indicates that she's taking an even greater role in Kit's life, given that she believes she'd be the one who had to listen to the instrument.
Themes
Earlier, Juliet and Kit had supper with Eben and Eli. Eben told Juliet that when the children were being evacuated, Elizabeth was there with Eli. Eli had asked Elizabeth who he'd say goodbye to if the boat was bombed. Elizabeth took off a medal she wore, told Eli that it was magic, and told him how to "call up the charm." Juliet wonders at the Guernsey parents' decisions to send their children away to keep them safe. She notes that she feels protective around Kit already and couldn't imagine having to send her away.
As Juliet thinks more critically about her relationship to Kit and the experience of having to send children away, she's becoming more maternal and curious about what it means to be a parent. Here, she recognizes that a parent's job is to protect their child, which parents couldn't do themselves if they sent their children to England.
Themes
