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
After her talk with Isabelle, Vianne sits alone in her bedroom and tries to calm her nerves. As she does so, she can hear Isabelle angrily pacing in the other room. Vianne wants to talk to Isabelle about the past and apologize for her behavior, but she worries that could only make matters worse. Even in normal times, that would be a difficult conversation to have, and these are far from normal times. Vianne thinks about the past and how difficult life was in the wake of her mother’s death. However, almost as soon as those thoughts come, Vianne pushes them away.
Vianne is in a difficult situation. She needs to keep Isabelle under control, but she has no genuine authority over her. In addition to these present difficulties, Vianne and Isabelle have yet to address the past traumas that drove them apart in the first place. The connection between the past and the present is a theme that recurs throughout the novel.
Themes
Vianne goes to the kitchen to make dinner and encounters Beck there. Beck tells Vianne about his family back home in Germany. His wife is pregnant, and he’s excited to get back to her once the war is over. This new information makes Vianne feel better about Beck’s presence. She realizes that the two of them are not that different; just like her, Beck wants the war to end as soon as possible so he can return to his family. Vianne asks Beck if he would like dinner and Beck politely accepts. He even brings a fancy bottle of wine to share with Vianne.
Beck’s discussion of his family humanizes him in Vianne’s eyes. She realizes that although he is the enemy, he is a person just like her who shares similar concerns. Additionally, it seems that Vianne is less worried that Beck will act sexually aggressive toward her because he has a wife at home.
Themes
Before dinner begins, Isabelle comes into the room and starts grilling Beck about the bombing she witnessed in Tours. She wants to know if Beck played any part in the event, and she is quite aggressive in trying to figure this out. When she gets the chance, Vianne pulls Isabelle aside and reminds her to think about the danger she could put them all in if she refuses to behave.
Again, Isabelle refuses to behave. Just like at etiquette school, she refuses to submit to any authority figure. Vianne understandably views Isabelle’s actions as needlessly perilous and does what she can to defuse the situation.
Themes
Isabelle acknowledges Vianne’s warning but does little to change her behavior. She does offer Beck a seat at the dinner table, but she is rude throughout the meal and leaves as soon as she can. When Isabelle leaves the table, Sophie excuses herself as well. This worries Vianne; she thinks Isabelle might instill behavior in Sophie that could get them all killed. She apologizes to Beck for Sophie and Isabelle’s actions. Beck accepts the apology by saying that he has a young daughter whose temperament is similar to Isabelle’s. This information once again helps put Vianne at ease. She feels more comfortable with Beck knowing that he has children and can understand Vianne’s situation.
Still, Isabelle will not heed Vianne’s advice. Luckily, Beck does not appear to be a tyrant. He further ingratiates himself with Vianne by telling her about his family. However, regardless of whether Beck is a good person, Vianne knows that he is far from her only problem and that Isabelle’s actions will catch up to them sooner or later.
Themes
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Following dinner, Vianne goes outside to get some air. Surprisingly, she finds Beck there; he tells her that he likes to stand underneath the night sky and look at the stars. Vianne asks Beck about what will become of the French prisoners of war. Beck tells her that he does not know all of the details. He thinks that some French soldiers will be allowed to come home, but many will not.
Again, the book portrays Beck as a human being rather than an evil Nazi. He admires nature and is sympathetic to Vianne’s plight. Vianne seems to see Beck as a cog in a much larger machine.
Themes
In the middle of Vianne and Beck’s conversation, Isabelle comes out and sees the two of them together. Isabelle makes a not-so-subtle comment about Vianne talking with the enemy, which makes Beck realize that he is not welcome. As such, he excuses himself and goes inside. Once Beck is gone, Isabelle informs Vianne that she is going to leave Carriveau and head to Paris. Isabelle hates living with Beck and thinks her presence will only cause problems. Ignoring the curfew, Isabelle heads to the train station. On her way, a German soldier spots her, chastises her for breaking the rules, and then orders her to return home. He also tells her that she needs a pass if she expects to be able to leave Carriveau.
When Isabelle spots Beck and Vianne together, it only makes matters worse. Isabelle already thinks that Vianne is too friendly with the enemy, and this sight confirms her worst suspicions. Isabelle refuses to submit to the Germans and continues to rebel. However, her encounter with the German soldier on the way to the train station finally forces her to accept that she is not entirely in control of her fate, and she is forced to turn back and live with Beck for the time being, whether she likes it or not. Again, Isabelle is perhaps lucky that she is a woman. If the German soldier had spotted a man doing something similar, his fate could have been much worse.
Themes
Realizing that she will have to learn to live with Vianne, Sophie, and Beck, Isabelle does her best to do as her older sister says. Each day, Isabelle goes to town and stands in line for food. One day while in line, Isabelle spots a piece of chalk on the ground. She picks up the chalk, already knowing what she is going to do with it. Isabelle eventually makes it to the front of the food line where she receives a bad cut of ham. The Germans have kept all of the good meat for themselves, so the residents of Carriveau are only left with lower quality cuts.
Ration lines became the norm for many occupied areas during World War II. As such, the French people were only allowed what the Germans would give them, which often wasn’t much. Of course, such treatment only increases Isabelle’s resentment. She picks up the chalk knowing that she will use it to engage in an act of rebellion.
Themes
Before heading home, Isabelle walks down an alley where she finds an anti-Semitic propaganda poster. Isabelle looks around her to make sure no one is watch and then draws a giant “V” (meaning “victory”) on the poster as an act of rebellion. As soon as she’s finished, a man grabs her and shoves her against the wall. Isabelle cannot see the man and cannot tell if he is a German. The man warns Isabelle that what she’s just done is punishable by death.
Antisemitism is mainly in the background for the first part of the novel; it seems that because Isabelle and Vianne are not Jewish, the issue is not at the front of their minds. In this moment, Isabelle directly rebels against the Nazi ideology, and it seems her careless actions may have finally caught up to her.
Themes
