The Nightingale: Chapter 37 Summary & Analysis

Vianne travels to Paris in hopes that she will find Isabelle but has no luck. She goes to Julien’s apartment, only to find that no one has lived in it for a long time. She also travels to a hotel where concentration camp survivors are gathering. All around, people are looking for their family members, and many of them are not having much luck. Vianne finds a Red Cross worker and asks him if he can look up some names for her. She also tells him that she has the names of the many children she saved throughout the war. The worker takes Vianne into a back room, and Vianne gives him the list with the children’s names on it. The man looks at Vianne with a great sense of admiration.

Next, the man looks up Rachel, Marc, and Isabelle. Unfortunately, he has no good news. Both Rachel and Marc died in concentration camps, and there is no record of Isabelle’s existence. The man tells Vianne that he is sorry for her loss and that she should go home and wait for Isabelle to find her way back. On the way back to Carriveau, Vianne tells Sophie that Ari is officially her brother. She also explains that the child she is carrying will be raised with a sense of love and hope, regardless of who its father is. That, according to Vianne, is the only way forward.

In the meantime, Isabelle and Madame Babineau hear something going on in their camp. When they go and examine the cause of the disturbance, they realize that the Nazis have left the camp. Isabelle and Madame Babineau rejoice as they realize that they have survived. As they celebrate, American tanks come rolling into the camp.

Vianne continues to wait for Isabelle. One day, not long after Vianne’s trip to Paris, Antoine takes Vianne outside and presents her with a surprise. Ari and Sophie have prepared a play with the help of Antoine, which they plan to put on for Vianne. Vianne watches the play and cannot help but take immense joy in what she sees.

While the play is going on, a car arrives, and two men get out. The men speak with Antoine, who then calls over Vianne. Antoine has a serious look on his face and Vianne can tell that she will not like what she is about to hear. The men explain that they are part of a Jewish organization that seeks to reconnect Jewish people with family they lost during the war. Although Ari’s parents did not survive, Ari has Jewish relatives in America who want to take him in.

This news is devastating to Vianne; she cannot fathom giving up Ari. However, the men convince her that it is the right thing to do. Millions of Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust, and the men want to make sure that Ari is raised Jewish so that their culture doesn’t die out. Vianne knows what she has to do, and she knows how much it will hurt. She calls Ari to her and explains to him that although she loves him very much, he will have to go and live with his relatives in America. Vianne promises Ari that he will have a great time in America and that there is no need to get upset. Nonetheless, when Ari leaves, he immediately begins bawling. Vianne thinks that giving up Ari was the hardest thing she’s ever had to do.