Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Girl with Seven Names, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Oppression, Human Rights, and North Korea
Identity and Nationality
Family
Kindness
Summary
Analysis
A few months later, Mother takes Hyeonseo and Min-ho to Grandmother’s house for the day. Grandmother is always full of stories, and for reasons Hyeonseo will never understand, Grandmother decides on this day to tell Hyeonseo the true story about her parentage. Hyeonseo’s name is not really her name, Grandmother says, and her father is not really her father. Grandmother goes to the bedroom and retrieves an old envelope and tells Hyeonseo to open it. Inside is a picture of Mother and a man—not Father—on their wedding day.
Grandmother’s story marks the beginning of Hyeonseo’s identity issues. From the moment she discovers the truth of her biological father, Hyeonseo isn’t sure who she really is. Hyeonseo can’t even rely on something as simple as her name describing who she is, a theme that is reflected in the book’s title. This moment also reflects the importance of family. Hyeonseo’s father is key to her sense of family, which is now ruined in a way.
Themes
Back at home, Hyeonseo is quiet. She stares at Min-ho—her half-brother—and feels her emotions change. She begins to pick fights with him and treat him badly, and at dinner as everyone chats, Hyeonseo refuses to talk. Father asks her what is wrong, but Hyeonseo refuses to answer and won’t look at him. He is not really her father, so she begins to avoid him.
Again, Hyeonseo is obviously hurt and confused regarding the truth about her identity. She has known nothing but her family her entire life, and now she learns that her brother is only her half-brother and her father is biologically unrelated to her.
Themes
