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46. Sisterhood
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in With the Fire on High, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age and Teen Parenthood
Creativity vs. Professional Norms
Food and Connection
Caregiving, Independence, and Identity
Support, Community, and Mentorship
Summary
Analysis
Emoni normally doesn’t pick up unknown numbers, but she’s distracted putting groceries away and answers—and it’s Malachi. He nervously explains that he wants to apologize for Pretty Leslie’s behavior yesterday. Emoni says it’s fine; she’s learned that the things that make her feel ashamed are usually other people’s problems. After a moment, Malachi asks if he could see Emoni and if they could talk. Emoni asks Malachi if Pretty Leslie is busy then immediately regrets it. Then she says she’s not interested if Malachi is flirting with both of them. Quietly, Malachi says Leslie is his friend and they’ve been through a lot of the same stuff. This is news to Emoni, but she accepts Malachi’s invitation to help her cook later.
Though Emoni likely would deny it, her jealousy in this passage is palpable. On one level, she wants to trust Malachi and possibly even get involved with him romantically, and so she fears that Pretty Leslie is going to ruin her chances with Malachi. To make things more complicated, Emoni has to balance her desire to get close to Malachi with her more adult responsibilities. Malachi’s insistence that Leslie has been through difficult things is interesting, as it suggests that there’s more to Leslie than Emoni realizes.
Themes
