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Chapter 8
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Life Class, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
War
Art
Gender
Love and Relationships
Class
Summary
Analysis
Paul goes to a fair with Elinor and her friends, and spending time with Elinor makes him reconsider his relationship with Teresa. He sees a man who appears to be watching him, but he dismisses it, blaming Teresa for having him jumping at shadows. Paul separates from the group, overcome with lust and yearning for casual sex with a woman he would never have to see again.
Paul’s distrust of Teresa is only a symptom of the larger problem in their relationship: he is in love with Elinor in a way he will never be with Teresa. The complications and obligations of a committed relationship trouble Paul, and thanks to his gender he is able to acknowledge his lust without the stigma and shame that Teresa encounters for her promiscuity.
Active
Themes
While he’s alone, Paul is confronted by the man who was watching him: Jack Halliday, Teresa’s husband. Halliday, clearly drunk, tells Paul that he isn’t special and that Teresa has affairs with lots of men. Paul is unnerved by Halliday’s “jeering complicity” with his own cuckolding. Paul is more confused than ever, but he doesn’t feel right calling things off with Teresa now.
Active
Themes
