Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Code Name Verity, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Friendship
War, Women, and Gender Roles
The Horrors of War
Resistance and Courage
Storytelling
Summary
Analysis
Maddie has started dreaming in French; she just had a terrible dream about guillotines. At this point it seems like it’ll be a miracle if Maddie isn’t beheaded in that “foul courtyard.” Earlier today, Maddie sat in Amélie’s café in Ormaie, waiting for a man to tell her that “the angel” will arrive in 10 minutes. This was the signal for Maddie to drop a tube of lipstick for Engel, telling Engel where to leave a note if she wants to work with the Resistance. Or, of course, she could set a trap for Maddie; it wouldn’t be hard.
As Maddie ventures out and performs these tasks for the Resistance, the odds that she will be caught increase—and if that happens, she’ll likely be executed. She’s struggling to process the trauma she’s experienced alongside her ongoing uncertainty about Julie’s fate and the looming threat of the Gestapo.
Themes
When Maddie got outside and passed Engel on the sidewalk, she pretended to drop the lipstick tube. Then, in German, she offered the tube to Engel. The captain was already in the car; he couldn’t hear them. Engel asked in English if Maddie was Maddie Brodatt. Maddie could only smile and say she was Käthe Habicht. Engel thanked Käthe, took the lipstick, and got in the car. Only then did Maddie remember that Käthe doesn’t understand English.
It’s impossible to tell at this point whether Engel plans to help Maddie or keep her cover. This only adds to Maddie’s anxiety, especially since she realizes she messed up by letting on that she understands English. Using a lipstick tube is also another instance of drawing on femininity to further one’s work—lipstick is stereotypically feminine and innocuous, so it’s unlikely von Linden will take any interest in it.
Themes
