Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Sarah’s Key, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Remembrance and History
The Power of Silence
Guilt
Identity
Bravery
The Limits of Love
Summary
Analysis
Inside the file, Julia finds twelve letters to André Tézac from Jules Dufaure, each containing updates on Sarah’s wellbeing. The file also contains monthly bank statements which show that André sent money to the Dufaures for ten years. Julia also finds a photograph of Sarah at age eighteen and is struck by Sarah’s “palpable sadness.” While Julia is going through the file, Zoë enters the room. She asks Julia what’s wrong, and who the girl in the photograph is. Julia gives Zoë some basic information about Sarah and admits that she is going to try to track her down, despite the fact that there is no information about Sarah after 1952 contained in the file.
Reading the contents of the folder provides Julia with important facts about Sarah’s life after the war. Seeing these photographs of Sarah deepens Julia’s feeling of connection with her, while uncovering more information about her life prior to 1952 only makes Julia hungrier for more details.
Themes
