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Chapter 37
Themes
and Colors
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
Isabelle and Madame Babineau make it to the Red Cross station in Paris. Madame Babineau walks Isabelle to the train station and sends her on her way to Carriveau. Isabelle is still quite ill, and she’s no longer person she was when the war began; she wonders how she will be able to move forward.
Finally, Isabelle is on her way home. However, she returns a changed woman. Isabelle is ill from her treatment in the concentration camp, and her mind and body are shattered. Like Vianne, she does not know how to return to normal.
Active
Themes
Isabelle arrives in Carriveau to find Vianne waiting for her. Vianne hugs Isabelle and for the first time she truly feels like she has survived the war. Vianne takes Isabelle home and cares for her. Isabelle apologizes for the events that led to Beck’s death, and Vianne apologizes for the many times she thinks she has failed Isabelle. Both sisters decide to start fresh and leave the past behind. They also compliment each other on their bravery. Both women have a sense of what the other has gone through, which makes them deeply respect each other.
In a touching scene, the novel's two protagonists reunite. Finally, the sisters get to say everything they’ve always wanted to say to each other. The war helped them appreciate each other's strengths and realize they must forgive each other's flaws.
Active
Themes
Unfortunately, Isabelle is not doing well. She is regularly coughing up blood and doesn’t seem to be getting better. A few days after her return, Isabelle goes outside barefoot in the snow and watches the Allied troops drive through Carriveau. For some reason, she thinks that Gaëtan is on his way to find her. When Vianne sees Isabelle out in the snow, she pulls her inside and does her best to warm her back up. But Isabelle only seems to be getting worse and increasingly delirious.
Active
Themes
Once Isabelle is back in bed, Vianne reads a letter Julien gave to her before he died. The letter expresses Julien’s love for his daughters and his sorrow that he could not be a better father to them. Isabelle says that she has been searching for her father’s approval for her entire life, but now that she has it, all she can feel is loss.
Active
Themes
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The following week, Gaëtan arrives in Carriveau and goes to see Isabelle. Isabelle worries that Gaëtan will not think she is pretty because of what she endured in the concentration camps. However, as soon as she lays eyes on him, all her worries fade, and they embrace each other. While in Gaëtan’s arms, Isabelle thinks to herself, “don’t forget me.”
