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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Rent Collector, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Power of Literature
Appearances, Judgment, and Hidden Character
Heroism and Self-Sacrifice
Hope and Action
Humor and Resilience
Summary
Analysis
In Stung Meanchey, all the villagers gather to hear Sang Ly tell a story. She begins by saying that although this story is a fable, like any literature, it also contains truth: Years ago, the Sky god, Vadavamukha looks down on Stung Meanchey with pity, because the villagers there “had lost their way.” Vadavamukha decides that he will send his daughter, Soriyan, to lead them and give them hope in spite of their filthy world. However, the sky god’s wife, Queen Devy, knew that Soriyan’s radiance would be unbearable for the villagers; they would not be able to look at her. Soriyan thus decided to clothe herself in garbage as a disguise so that she could lead the people as one of them.
By telling a fable about Sopeap Sin rather than recounting the literal story of her life, Sang Ly mythologizes Sopeap and highlights the meaning and life lessons that can be gleaned from her story. This use of literature to communicate the truth of Sopeap’s character and virtue suggests that sometimes the most powerful and accurate way to convey a person’s true value may be through a story that expresses the essence of who they are, rather than a literal retelling of specific events.
Themes
But when Soriyan descended from the heavens, she struck her head on ground and forgot who she was, and Stung Meanchey’s filth turned her foul. Wisely, the sky god knew that in time, she would remember who she was and why she was there, and her hard experiences would develop a sense of empathy within her. But by the time Soriyan remembered who she was, she was so old she only had the time to write down stories to convey her wisdom, and to teach a few people to make more stories to guide Stung Meanchey’s people. Sang Ly ends the story by saying that if the villagers look carefully for good stories in their own midst, the people will “discover hope.”
Sang Ly’s story suggests that, between the poverty of Stung Meanchey and Sopeap’s own anguished alcoholism, her teacher simply lost her way for several years, becoming the foul Rent Collector rather than the beacon of hope she intended to be. The narrative further suggests that, although Sopeap only had the time to teach and give hope to Sang Ly herself, she will carry on that work and lead Stung Meanchey in telling stories, spreading literacy, and finding hope.
Themes
In certain moments, even long after Sopeap died, Sang Ly still feels the way she did that night, after Sopeap passed away and she walked through Phnom Penh in the rain with Ki. Despite waking up in a stinking dump, in those moments the world feels clean and purified, like snow, and filled with love. Sang Ly realizes that Grandfather was right so many days ago, when Sopeap first saw the book that Ki found in the trash: “it was indeed a very lucky day.”
Sang Ly’s time with Sopeap transformed her life and helped her to see that hope and heroes can be found in any environment, regardless of poverty. Sang Ly’s memory of Sopeap’s “redeeming rain” suggests that Sopeap’s teaching redeemed the world around Sang Ly by teaching her to see the value and beauty in it.
Themes
