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
It is now 1995, and the still unnamed narrator has just arrived in France with Julien. She mentally prepares herself for what she is about to experience and what her son is about to learn. On the way to the reunion, the narrator takes Julien to a macaroon vendor. She buys two macaroons and hands one to Julien. Julien eats the macaroon and is stunned by how good it tastes. The narrator recalls that macaroons were her mother’s favorite treat, and it brings her happiness to see Julien enjoy one.
Evidently, Julien has never been to Paris before because his mother did not take him as a child. However, his first experience in Paris starts on the right foot as his mother treats him to one of her mother’s favorite treats. In this bittersweet moment, the narrator shows Julien a meaningful part of the culture she left behind.
Themes
The narrator and Julien walk the streets of Paris, eventually arriving at the building where the reunion is being held. The narrator admits to Julien that she is afraid to go inside. However, she knows she must. Together, Julien and the narrator enter the building. When she enters, the narrator goes to a table to pick up a nametag. While at the table, she sees another name she recognizes. The sight of the name deeply touches her, but she does not say why. She picks up this nametag along with her own.
At this point, Julien still does not know anything about the meeting he is about to attend. However, the narrator knows he is about to see his mother in an entirely different light—and his mother doesn’t know if she is ready. The name tag the narrator spots is presumably someone the reader is familiar with, although she still needs to specify who that person is.
Themes
After getting her name tag, a woman the narrator does not know comes up to her and escorts her to her seat. As she enters the room where the other members of the reunion are sitting, everyone stops speaking and looks at her. At the front of the room is a man with a microphone who informs everyone that a special guest has just arrived. Then, he asks the narrator to come to the front of the room to say a few words. The narrator is embarrassed; she does not want to speak to everyone but knows that she must.
The other conference members treat the narrator as a guest of honor, suggesting that she undertook heroic feats during the war.
Themes
The narrator walks to the front of the room, picks up the microphone and then begins a speech about her sister, Isabelle. She reminisces about the last days of Isabelle’s life. Apparently, Isabelle did not survive long after Gaëtan’s return—she died in his arms shortly after their reunion. As the narrator (Vianne) talks about Isabelle, she looks down at the second nametag that she picked up. The nametag has Sophie’s name on it. Sophie, however, died of cancer several years ago.
Finally, readers learn that the unnamed narrator is Vianne, who survived the years following the war even though her sister Isabelle did not. Even more tragic, Sophie, the person Vianne loves most in the world, also did not outlive her. As the symbolism of its title would suggest, then, The Nightingale is ultimately a tragedy.
Themes
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While speaking, Vianne looks up and sees Julien in the back of the room with a surprised look on his face. She also looks around at the crowd and realizes that she is speaking to the families of the pilots that Isabelle saved. When she finishes her speech, Vianne receives thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
Decades after the war, Vianne finally understands her sister's accomplishments. Hundreds of people are alive today because of Isabelle's actions. Although she lived a short life herself, Isabelle deeply affected the lives of many others.
Themes
After her speech, Vianne interacts with some members of the audience, all of whom come up and thank her. One of the audience members is Gaëtan, who is happy to reunite with Vianne. He introduces Vianne to his daughter, Isabelle. Julien witnesses this interaction with a startled look on his face. He asks Vianne why she never told him about Isabelle’s role in the war.
As the novel ends, Vianne reunites with people from her past. Although Isabelle did not survive, Gaëtan did and is still alive many years later. Evidently, Julien knows almost nothing about his aunt; all of this information is new to him. Vianne’s secrecy underscores how profoundly the war affected her—the things that happened to her are too traumatic for her to discuss them with others, even her own son.
Themes
Before Vianne can say much to Julien, another familiar face approaches her: Ari. Ari is overjoyed to see Vianne, and he tells her that he has never forgotten what she and Sophie did for him. Vianne introduces Ari and Julien to each other and explains who Ari is. Julien is astounded by his mother’s bravery, a feeling that is only amplified when Ari reveals that Vianne saved many children, not just him. However, there is one secret that Julien does not learn, which Vianne plans to keep—he does not know who his real father is. In the aftermath of the war, Julien’s birth helped Vianne to move on with her life. She does not want to spoil everything now by drudging up the past.
Even more touching than Vianne’s reunion with Gaëtan is her reunion with Ari. Vianne did not expect to see Ari and is overjoyed when she is finally reunites with the man who was her son for several years. However, although Julien learns a lot about his mother’s past, Vianne doesn’t tell him that Von Richter is his real father. She keeps this trauma to herself so as not to pass it on to future generations. Her secrecy also suggests that the love she has for her son far outweighs the hate that von Richter imposed upon her.
Themes
