Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Immortalists, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fate vs. Choice
Family and Shared History
Obsession
Death, Meaning, and Legacy
Surviving vs. Living
Magic, Religion, Dance, and Possibility
Summary
Analysis
Two weeks later, Klara finishes her last class. She chooses not to walk at graduation and packs her suitcase. Simon also packs discreetly, choosing to leave behind most of his belongings. He takes a few pieces of clothing, Saul’s gold watch, and his running shoes. Klara’s suitcase is larger—it includes a magic box that turns into a table, which was handed down from Ilya. She packs it with her tools: silk scarves, silver rings, quarters, cups, balls, and a very worn deck of cards.
Saul’s gold watch symbolizes the Gold children’s awareness of their mortality, as it is a constant reminder of the time that they have left on earth. The fact that it begins the story with Simon is apt; of his siblings, he has the least amount of time left and therefore he is the most aware of his mortality.
Themes
That night, Simon lies awake for hours. He feels guilty about abandoning Gertie and the business. He comforts himself by imagining that he is a salmon, swimming away from his stream to the ocean, then returning home years later. Early the next morning, Klara wakes and says goodbye to Gertie. As Simon tiptoes out the door following her, Gertie appears and asks where he’s going. He says that he’s going to get a sandwich, adding that he has to live his life. She lets him go but tells him to stop by the shop after school. He chokes out an agreement and flies down the stairs.
Simon’s vision of the salmon demonstrates that even though he knows he is about to cause conflict and even estrangement between himself and his mother, he can always find comfort in returning home to his family. Simon’s final exchange with his mother encapsulates his concern about staying in New York City—that he will be forced to take on the burden of carrying on his father’s legacy when he wants to be able to live his own life.
Themes
Simon and Klara take a bus to San Francisco, and when they arrive, Simon feels elated. They stay for a few days with a boy from their high school who now goes by Baksheesh Khalsa as well as his two roommates, Susie and Raj. Simon and Klara look for apartments in the Castro, one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States. They find a very small apartment above a club called Purp. They can just afford the first month’s rent and decide to take it.
Fueled with the knowledge that they are going to die young, Simon and Klara are able to make impulsive decisions like moving into a place with very little money. They’re not planning to make long-term financial decisions or be prudent about taking risks because they believe that they will die soon. It’s not clear whether their decisions will actually cause their fate, though, or whether they merely result from their knowledge of the future.
Themes
To celebrate their new home, Simon and Klara go dancing and take LSD. At the club, Simon kisses a man (Ian) covered in green glitter. Simon and Ian take a cab back to Ian’s apartment, a modern place in the financial district. Simon is nervous—this is his first romantic encounter of any kind. Ian gives Simon a blow job, and then the two have sex. Simon is stunned—the pleasure is better than he could have imagined.
Simon’s first few days in San Francisco illustrate how knowing his fate enables him to find fulfillment in ways he never could have achieved in New York. No longer hampered by the expectations of family, Simon is able to be who he wants to be and find greater meaning and satisfaction in his own life.
Themes
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The next morning, Ian leaves for work. Alone in the apartment, Simon calls Gertie in New York—it’s been six days since he left. Daniel picks up, startling Simon. Daniel angrily berates Simon for running away: he had to return to comfort Gertie and will be taking incompletes for the semester. Daniel tells Simon that he should get on the bus that afternoon to come home. Simon replies that he’s not coming back and starts crying. Daniel softens, explaining that Gertie and the business need Simon. He says that Gertie is thinking about calling the police because Simon is technically a runaway. Simon hangs up.
Here, Simon gets a taste of how his decisions have affected his family. Not only has he abandoned the business that his father wanted him to inherit, but he is also placing additional burdens Daniel who has to put his own goals on hold to be there to comfort his mother. Simon’s decisions cause a great degree of estrangement between him and Daniel, as Daniel’s fury at Simon causes him, in turn, to pull away from Simon.
Themes
