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Chapter 23
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Time Traveler’s Wife, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Here and Now
Love and Absence
Free Will vs. Determinism
Language and Art
Self-Love
Summary
Analysis
Thursday, May 11, 2000 (Henry is 39, Clare is 28). Henry wanders around a Chicago neighborhood one day, having time travelled two years in the past. As he walks, Henry notices Clare looking at baby clothes in a store window across the street. He joins her. When he asks her how she is, Clare admits she’s nearly ready to give up on having a baby. Henry uncharacteristically reveals a significant part of their future; he tells Clare not to quit because in his time in 2002, they have baby. Clare is relieved. Henry reflects internally on his memory of their child’s birth and is glad he can provide Clare hope. He warns her that in the present he is trying his best to prevent her from getting pregnant, but it will happen anyway. She thanks him.
This chapter simultaneously brings closure and builds tension. While future-Henry confirms that he and Clare eventually do have a baby, his mention that present-Henry is actively trying to prevent Clare from getting pregnant raises more questions. Still, in traveling backward in time and assuring Clare, future-Henry seems to be attempting to make up for whatever setbacks his past self forced Clare to endure in his efforts to prevent her from conceiving. As Henry ages, he gains a better sense of personal accountability and self-awareness, and he uses these new skills to counteract the conflict that his younger, less responsible self has wrought.
Themes
