Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Fiela’s Child, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race and Identity
Parenting
Justice
Humanity vs. Nature
Summary
Analysis
Elias is angry at Barta for all the trouble she brought to his family. He wishes Barta would’ve continued to keep quiet. He supposes he did always wonder how a child of three could’ve made it to Long Kloof. Soon after Barta told the truth, Kristoffel left without saying anything. When he comes back to Elias, he says he feels like Aunt Malie seems to have always known about “Lukas.” She once argued with Nina that Benjamin wasn’t really Lukas.
In his usual fashion, Elias refuses to take any responsibility for his actions and instead places all of the blame on Barta. His preference for keeping “Lukas’s” identity a secret rather than bringing the truth to light reflects his disregard for the truth in general.
Themes
