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Chapter 25
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Anchoress, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Rules and Freedom
Authority, Compassion, and Responsibility
Purity and Contamination
Life, Death, and Hardship
The Power of Words
Summary
Analysis
When Ranaulf next visits, he considers the garden gate. He knows he had a major role in the change, yet he still feels unsettled by it. He wishes that he got to see the garden before it was locked. But it’s not a space for men, as Sarah quietly reminds him. He leads her through her confession, then they talk about Sir Thomas. No one knows if he will survive. Like Sarah, Ranaulf prays for him out of his Christian duty. But he also feels guilt, as if his anger over Sir Thomas’s wrongdoing helped fan the flames of the manor fire. Fortunately, Sarah reminds him, God is merciful. Although he’s not sure if she’s means that God will show mercy to Sir Thomas or forgive Ranaulf for his thirst for revenge, he finds consolation in her words.
Ranaulf feels a little miffed to be cut out of the garden he helped Sarah find. But like her, he’s also undergone a change. As he’s developed a healthier sense of his responsibility toward the anchoress, they’ve grown closer. In this visit, readers can see that Ranaulf is now as willing and eager to receive advice from Sarah as he once was to dispense it. His exclusion from the garden actually protects their relationship by placing very clear boundaries around it, showing how sometimes, paradoxically, freedom is easiest to find within a clear set of rules.
Active
Themes
