Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Time Traveler’s Wife, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Here and Now
Love and Absence
Free Will vs. Determinism
Language and Art
Self-Love
Summary
Analysis
Friday, May 7, 2004 (Henry is 40, Clare is 32). It is the opening of Clare’s art exhibit, which she has spent a year preparing for. Most of the pieces are birds; some hang from the ceiling and some perch on the ground. A complimentary review ran in the paper that morning. All of Henry and Clare’s friends and family have come to the show to admire her work. As she mingles with them and her dealer, Henry watches Alba. Alba is insisting on seeing Clare instead when Henry begins to feel ill. Richard, seeing Henry’s face, comes over to take Alba from him. After Henry disappears, Richard takes Alba to Clare, who hadn’t noticed until then that Henry was pulled away again.
Birds have always been a major focus of Clare’s art. In the novel, wings symbolize freedom, in particular Clare’s desire to be free from the limitations that Henry’s condition imposes on their relationship. Clare’s bird-focused art pieces thus symbolize the lingering pain and strife that characterize her relationship. Though the couple had hoped Alba’s birth would be a fresh start, it’s clear that their struggles have not dissipated since becoming parents. Henry’s disappearance from an exhibit that expresses Clare’s frustrations with his frequent disappearances takes on an extra layer of symbolic resonance.
Themes
