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
Zélie wakes in excruciating pain to the smell of vomit and urine. When she tries to stand, she trips over chains and tumbles. An unfamiliar metal binds her ankles and wrists. She remembers the cloud of white and realizes that she didn’t kill Inan, and the Iyika didn’t win: the monarchy captured them somehow. Zélie roars for Inan and tries to figure out who else is with her in the darkness, and how many escaped. As the floor rocks, Zélie pulls herself up and climbs onto Amari’s unconscious body. Through the window, she sees nothing but sea.
Finding herself chained on a ship implies that there will new villains and opponents for the next novel in the series, but it also suggests that going forward, things in Orïsha are going to remain violent and oppressive—the chains make it clear that Zélie and her companions aren’t honored guests. Especially since these conditions mirrors those of real-life historical slave ships, it’s clear that Zélie isn’t going to find peace right away in the final installment of the series.
Themes
