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Part 7, 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
Two years later, Somerset goes to see Suzanne Rouvier. She says she has a solo show at a prestigious gallery soon and is also about to be married to Monsieur Achille, whose wife has recently died. She says her daughter, Odette, is now 16, and Monsieur Achille has said that she can come live with them. Monsieur Achille also arranged for Suzanne’s solo show to raise the social standing of his future wife, who will now become an artist with a certain amount of prestige attached to her name. Somerset thinks Suzanne’s painting lacks substance but is graceful and elegant. He decides to buy a piece. Before Somerset leaves, Suzanne asks if Larry is still in the U.S., and Somerset says he is as far as he knows.
Suzanne’s relationship with Monsieur Achille mirrors the transactional relationships that Elliott would pursue to try and achieve social eminence. Notably, Suzanne’s transactional relationship with Monsieur Achille seems to work for Suzanne and her daughter, and the novel doesn’t seem to be judgmental about that relationship or argue that it is worth less than any of the other friendships depicted in the novel. With that in mind, while the novel has firm opinions about the various ways that people try to find meaning in life, it maintains those ideas while trying to avoid dogmatism.
Themes
