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 writes Sophie from Guernsey with information about Juliet, Kit, and Dawsey. Kit appears to love Juliet and is adorable, though her glare is withering. Juliet seems more alive and healthier than ever. Sidney believes she won't move back to London after this, and he doesn't blame her.
In this letter, Sidney confirms that Juliet is becoming a valued member of the Society and the Society family—and in particular, is becoming a valued adult in Kit's life. This is all thanks to a shared love of literature.
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Themes
Quotes
Then, Sidney tells Sophie about Dawsey. He's quiet and has a calming presence. Juliet seems nervous around him and he watches her, but glances away when she looks at him. Sidney believes he's way better than Mark Reynolds, whom Sidney believes is a bully. Sidney says that Mark just wants Juliet because she's pretty and smart. Their married life would consist of clubs and outings and Juliet would never write another book. Sidney declares it'd be the end of the Juliet they know. On the plus side, Juliet doesn't seem to miss Mark much.
Sidney's assessment of Mark confirms the reader's suspicions about him: he doesn't respect Juliet as a person or as a writer, and has no intention of allowing her to continue to work after marriage. Juliet's lack of emotion about possibly breaking up with him again implies that she values her freedom and her work more highly than marrying him.
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Sidney turns to the occupation and Juliet's book. Sidney has been learning about the day the island was liberated. Many of the soldiers that marched ashore were Guernseymen who hadn't heard from their families in five years. The postman told Sidney a story about St. Sampson's Harbor a few miles north of St. Peter Port. Instead of all the soldiers marching up to the town, one soldier dressed as a caricature of an Englishman and held the Times. The rest of the soldiers gave out tea, oranges, and cigarettes.
The single soldier holding the Times represented the fact that for the first time in five years, Guernsey would have access to news. This meant that Guernsey was once again able to participate with the rest of England in recovering after the war, as the island could use the writing in papers to catch up and make sense of what happened.