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Chapter 38
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Power, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Violence
Corruption
Gender Reversals and Sexism
Stories, History, and Perspective
Religion and Manipulation
Revolution and Social Change
Summary
Analysis
Roxy calls Eve after she makes the call for Tunde. Eve is thrilled to her that Roxy is alive; she says she knew that Darrell was lying. Roxy tells Eve that she is planning to retake what is hers. When she arrives at the gate of the factory, she expects a battle, but the women are overjoyed to see her. They take her back toward the cold storage fridge. Inside, on a cold table, are lumps of meat. It dawns on Roxy that this is the remains of Darrell. “What have you done?” she says.
The irony of the women taking revenge on Darrell for what he did to Roxy is that Roxy cannot then retake the power that was once hers, since the skein died with him. What’s more, it’s not clear that Roxy even wanted to kill Darrell. There is further irony in the fact that Roxy’s trauma is used to justify Eve’s war later on, despite the fact that Roxy herself only wants to make peace. Through these incidents, Alderman illustrates how power consumes everyone who can use it, even when their motivations are relatively pure.
Themes
