Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Nightingale, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Morality and Impossible Choices
Antisemitism and Active Resistance
Gender Roles
Love and War
Summary
Analysis
Vianne sits alone and knits while thinking about Antoine. She desperately wants him to come home because she misses him, and she knows that he could take control of the current situation. After finishing her knitting, Vianne goes outside with the intention of chopping wood. However, before she can get far, Beck comes out and offers to take over the task. Vianne tells him that he doesn’t have to, but Beck insists; he wants to be a good houseguest and chopping wood is a man’s job. Vianne accepts Beck’s help, but doing so makes her uneasy.
Vianne wants Antoine to return so that she can return to her old role in the household. As she goes outside to chop wood, she realizes that, in some ways, she has a replacement for Antoine in the form of Beck. Although he is not the leader Vianne seeks, he is nonetheless a masculine presence who takes over some of the more male-oriented chores around the house.
Themes
Rachel arrives the Mauriac’s residence to accompany Vianne and Sophie to school. Before they depart, Beck spots them, and Vianne introduces him to Rachel. On their way to school, Rachel comments on Beck’s good looks, and Vianne tells her that she shouldn’t speak of such things. In response, Rachel tells Vianne that she should consider herself lucky; many of the other Germans are much worse than Beck both in temperament and looks.
Here, Rachel alludes to a thought has already occurred to Vianne: Beck is an attractive man who essentially fulfills a husband-like role without sex. Rachel tries to get Vianne to look on the bright side, but where Rachel sees positives, Vianne only observes more problems.
Themes
In the meantime, Isabelle is being dragged along the back alleys of Paris after defacing the propaganda poster. She still doesn’t know who has apprehended her or what is going to happen. She worries that the man is a German who will kill her for her actions. Eventually, Isabelle ends up in a room with a group of men. She doesn’t think they are Nazis but does not know for sure. There, a man about why she defaced the poster. As she glances around the room, Isabelle realizes that none of the men look German, so she is likely safe to tell the truth.
This is a fast-paced sequence where Isabelle has to quickly determine whether she is amongst friends or foes. Knowing she could be in danger, Isabelle quickly analyzes the men around her and eventually surmises she is amongst friends.
Themes
Once the man realizes that Isabelle’s “V” was an act of resistance, he asks her to join his cause. The man’s name is Henri, and he is a supporter of General de Gaulle. Henri thinks Isabelle would be good for the cause—as a woman, she’ll appear more inconspicuous. He tasks Isabelle with secretly handing out pamphlets around town, which serve as messages from de Gaulle to the resistance. Isabelle happily agrees to help. She is overjoyed to finally be part of something that can meaningfully fight back against the Nazis.
As it turns out, Isabelle’s intuitions were once again correct. Furthermore, she luckily managed to stumble into the exact role she was looking for. Although she catches a lucky break here, Isabelle’s life has only become more dangerous. She is now an active part of the resistance, a position that could result in her death.
Themes
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Henri informs Isabelle that there are many other groups like his that are doing similar work. He also gives her a bunch of pamphlets to distribute, which Isabelle hides in her shopping basket. When Isabelle gets home, she goes to the cellar to put away the produce. Before she can go downstairs, Beck insists on carrying her basket for her. This makes Isabelle visibly nervous; she knows what could happen if Beck discovers the contents of the basket. Beck notices Isabelle’s demeanor and asks her what is wrong. Isabelle tells him that she saw the Gestapo in town with their dogs, and the sight frightened her. Beck doesn’t push Isabelle further, but it is unclear whether he believes her. Luckily, Beck never looks in the basket, and Isabelle is able to hide the pamphlets before going back upstairs.
Beck almost immediately catches Isabelle before she can distribute her first pamphlet. This makes Isabelle realize that she must be more careful around Beck and the other Nazis than in the past. If she is not, then her life—and the lives of Vianne and Sophie—could be in danger. However, once again, Isabelle does have the benefit of being relatively inconspicuous because of her gender.
Themes
The following day, Isabelle wakes up early in the morning to hand out the pamphlets. Doing so makes her feel strong and important—like she is doing something that actually matters. Afterward, she heads to town to stand in line for food. However, because Isabelle is up so early, she is the first one there. For her efforts, she is rewarded with a two-thirds cup of butter, which, to Isabelle, is a great reward.
Isabelle performs her first job and finally gets the sense of purpose she was looking for. It feels like the universe rewards her when she gets a relatively excellent item from the ration line.
Themes
