Previous
Part 5, Chapter 4
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Razor’s Edge, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Wisdom and the Meaning of Life
Social Norms and Conformity
Trauma and Self-Destruction
Snobbishness, Social Status, and Cosmopolitanism
Truth and the Problem of Evil
Summary
Analysis
At lunch, Somerset thinks Isabel is on her best behavior. Somerset, Larry, and Sophie turn down any alcohol that is offered. Somerset thinks that Larry probably used the same “method of suggestion” to cure Sophie of her alcoholism that he used to cure Gray of his headaches. Sophie says that she and Larry plan to be married in a week, and Somerset expresses his regrets that he won’t be able to make it; he plans to leave Paris for London the next day. After lunch is over, Isabel offers to take Sophie to a dress show so she can see the newest styles, and Sophie accepts.
Larry’s apparent use of hypnotism to try and cure Sophie of alcoholism shows the cracks in his relationship with Sophie. Based on Somerset’s description, Sophie doesn’t seem to be making these choices as much as she is going along with Larry’s attempts to “rescue” her. If it’s not her choice, though, the novel suggests that the relationship will have little chance of succeeding.
Themes
