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Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Immortalists, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fate vs. Choice
Family and Shared History
Obsession
Death, Meaning, and Legacy
Surviving vs. Living
Magic, Religion, Dance, and Possibility
Summary
Analysis
Simon lays in a bed in San Francisco General Hospital. The glands in his neck are swollen; he has bad nerve pain and can’t sleep. Klara and Robert alternately stay overnight in Simon’s room. One night, when he is alone, Simon decides to call Daniel. He tells Daniel that he’s sick, but Daniel only stiffly responds that he’s sorry to hear that. Simon asks about Daniel’s life. Daniel says that he’s in medical school and just got home from class. Daniel asks if there’s anything he can do for Simon, and Simon says no.
Simon and Daniel’s exchange illustrates how their conflict has naturally pulled them apart, to the point where Simon doesn’t know what Daniel has been doing in his life, while Daniel doesn’t know that Simon is dying. Still, Simon reaches out to Daniel in this moment because, as family, they have an unassailable bond that pulls them back together.
Themes
By June 13th, Simon has become very weak. He tells Robert about the fortune teller, explaining that she told him he would die young, and that’s why he ran away. When Robert leaves for a moment, Klara lies in bed with Simon. Klara asks what date the woman gave, and Simon says Sunday. He says he’s not angry with her—without her, he wouldn’t have come to San Francisco, met Robert, or learned to dance. Simon realizes that Klara suggested they go to San Francisco because of him. She explains that when he said he was going to die young, she wanted him to be able to have the life he wanted.
Bringing up the fortune teller in this moment demonstrates the profound effect that her fortune had on Simon and Klara. As both of them knew that they were going to die young, they wanted to take advantage of the short time that they had. But there is still a possibility that Simon coming to San Francisco is actually what prompted his death, reaffirming that knowing his fate led him to make choices that ultimately sealed that fate.
Themes
Over the next few days, Robert and Simon lay together watching videos of great male dancers. Simon thinks how lucky he was to know Robert. He makes Klara promise to get Robert into a trial for a new experimental drug if Robert has the disease. Klara promises. Simon says he loves Robert over and over, and when Robert says it back, Simon is finally able to sleep.
Simon’s final moments encapsulate how he took advantage of the little time he had: he built a meaningful relationship and pursued his passions. Even if he didn’t live a full life, he wanted to find meaning within it, illustrating that sometimes short, full lives can be more satisfying than long, empty ones.
Themes
