Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Children of Virtue and Vengeance, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Systems of Oppression
Cycles of Violence
Tradition and History
Love vs. Duty
Summary
Analysis
After a full night of training, Zélie struggles to keep her eyes open as two young Reapers, Bimpe and Màri, prepare Zélie for her ascension as elder. Both are young teenagers and their borrowed sêntaro robes fit them poorly. Màri, who’s only 13, enthusiastically offers herself as Zélie’s Second. She and Bimpe help Zélie into the costume of red silk and glittering beads. When Zélie is dressed, she thinks she looks like Mama and like Oya come to life. The girls leave Zélie alone. Though she knows being the elder will help her take out Inan, she feels like her freedom is disappearing. Tzain appears and comforts Zélie. He reminds her that she’s wanted this since she was a child, when she and Mama watched a Reaper receive his ìsípayá and ascend.
Ascending as the elder of the Reaper clan is one way for Zélie to build community and make herself an important part of the maji world, even if at this point it feels like losing freedom. At this point Zélie is still very focused on Baba and her grief, so it’s hard for her to focus on the family of Reapers she’ll gain by becoming their elder. When Tzain reminds Zélie of how she watched an ìsípayá as a child, it reminds Zélie that this is part of her past and is something she shared with those she loved—even if those she loved, like Mama, are now dead.
Themes
At the base of the third mountain, Mama Agba steps into the stone circle and shares the history of the elders: the elder of a clan is the most powerful maji, and the title can transfer through challenges or simply passing the title along. Mama Agba asks Mâzeli if he wants to challenge or concede. He concedes as Zélie enters the circle and kneels. In Yoruba, Mama Agba asks if Zélie accepts her clan as her own and promises to protect them at all costs. Zélie looks at Bimpe, Màri, and Mâzeli and thinks they already feel like family. She agrees to protect them. Mama Agba paints symbols on Zélie’s face and then slices Zélie’s palm and slams it onto the stone.
This ritual is sacred and is likely something that elders have been undergoing for as long as maji and magic have existed in Orïsha. In this sense, Zélie is taking her place among generations of Reaper elders as she does this, which helps her connect to her history and keep them alive for this generation. She can now be an example for young Bimpe and Màri, and channel Mâzeli’s enthusiasm to make it more useful as he grows into a mature adult.
Themes
Zélie’s hand bonds to the stone as purple smoke surrounds her. Everything else disappears and Zélie sees a teardrop of ashê appear on Oya’s hand—Zélie’s ìsípayá. The teardrop hits Zélie’s palms and she sees a purple ribbon of light, then a gold one, and then other colors. The ribbons weave together like tree roots and create roaring power. Zélie snaps back to her body. Mama Agba proudly helps Zélie up as everyone cheers.
Though Zélie doesn’t understand the meaning of her ìsípayá now, it’s worth considering the symbolism of the different ribbons. As Zélie will learn, the ribbons symbolize many people joining together to create something far more powerful than any individual—which supports the novel’s assertion that communities like the maji community are extremely important.
Themes
