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Chapter 20: Hortense
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Small Island, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Manners and Civilization
Race and Prejudice
Redemption
Displacement and Belonging
Marriage and Women’s Roles
Summary
Analysis
Hurrying down the stairs, Gilbert encounters Queenie. He’s learned to avoid her much of the time. Since her husband is away, she often relies on Gilbert for help with household chores, but he doesn’t have time right now. She also makes him convey rules and directions to the other Jamaican lodgers, and he doesn’t like being her go-between.
While Gilbert appreciates Queenie, it seems like he feels stuck between her and the other lodgers—not quite a Jamaican like them, but also not part of Queenie’s world. His furtive behavior shows how uncomfortable such a position can be, even if it lends him certain privileges, like Queenie’s trust.
Active
Themes
Queenie asks if it was Winston or Kenneth who helped Gilbert with the trunk yesterday. Gilbert lies that it was Winston, since Queenie hates Kenneth and has kicked him out of the house in the past. Before she can investigate further, he leaves for work.
Active
Themes
