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“The Nightingale” is Isabelle Rossignol’s code name, which symbolizes her fundamental spiritual purity. Nightingales have a long literary history dating back to ancient Greece, and it also appears in the works of romantic poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. In romantic poetry, the nightingale often represents the righteousness of nature. However, it also has some darker connotations, such as in John Keats’s famous poem “Ode to a Nightingale.” In Keats’s poem, the nightingale is still connected to the natural world, but it is also associated with death. This duel meaning carries over into Hannah’s novel. Isabelle is a source of fundamental good in the world, but she is also a tragic figure. For the majority of the novel, she is a fierce member of the resistance responsible for saving hundreds of lives. She carries out many escort missions at night, which partly explains the name “Nightingale.” However, the name’s more profound and tragic symbolism only becomes clear in the novel’s final chapter, when Isabelle dies shortly after returning home from a concentration camp.
The Nightingale Quotes in The Nightingale
The The Nightingale quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Nightingale. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4 Quotes
“I’m just tired of the war talk. And it’s a fact that women are useless in war. Your job is to wait for our return.”
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This quote appears in a conversation between Isabelle and her male friend, Christophe. Christophe interrupts Isabelle to make this statement while she is reading a book about Edith Cavell, a British nurse and female war hero from World War I. Christophe’s statement irritates Isabelle because it is untrue and dismissive. Isabelle has proof directly in front of her face; she is reading about a female war hero who did not stay at home and leave everything else to the men. In fact, Edith Cavell was responsible for saving hundreds of lives, and her enemies executed her as a result. Edith Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducim
Chapter 12 Quotes
“Don’t think about who they are. Think about who you are and what sacrifices you can live with and what will break you [. . .] Isabelle will have her crisis of faith in this, too. As will we all. I have been here before, in the Great War. I know the hardships are just beginning. You must stay strong.”
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Vianne visits Mother Superior, her local church leader, to express her guilt about following Beck’s order to write a list of the Jewish residents of Carriveau. She feels terrible because the Nazis fired Rachel and the other Jewish people at Vianne’s school after Vianne made the list, and Vianne feels responsible. Vianne’s “crisis of faith” stems from the fact that Beck forced her to make an impossible decision that compromised her morality. In following Beck’s order and writing the list, she betrayed her best friend and the town’s other Jewish residents. But refusing Beck’s order could have put herself and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nis
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The Nightingale Symbol Timeline in The Nightingale
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Nightingale appears in The Nightingale. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 19
...this point, Isabelle has been given a false identity—Juliette Gervais—as well as a codename: the Nightingale.
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Chapter 21
...Of course, they do not know Isabelle’s real name; they only know her as the Nightingale. Although Isabelle knows that Ian is right, she rejects his warning and plans to continue...
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...She doesn’t want to draw too much attention to herself and out herself as the Nightingale.
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Chapter 24
...the Nazis have recently begun arresting women involved in resistance efforts. Additionally, the name “the Nightingale” is known everywhere, and the Nazis are doing everything they can to find him or...
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Chapter 27
Meanwhile, Isabelle dreams of fire accompanied by the sad song of a nightingale. She also sees a prince in a forest, as well as a wolf. For a...
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Chapter 30
...Gaëtan make it to Madame Babineau’s cottage. There, they find three pilots waiting for the Nightingale to escort them. Madame Babineau catches Isabelle up to speed and hands her a letter...
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Chapter 33
...for 48 hours. Right after she regains consciousness, the German authorities interrogate Isabelle about the Nightingale’s identity. They claim to know that Isabelle works for the Nightingale and want the truth....
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Chapter 34
...looking for. She repeatedly claims that she does not have any information relating to the Nightingale. For a moment, the torture stops, and then the Germans bring in Julien Rossignol, who...
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...sake, Isabelle tells the Germans that he is lying and that she is the real Nightingale. However, because she is a woman, the Germans do not believe her. Isabelle begs Julien...
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