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
Saturday, October 27, 1984/Monday, January 1, 2007 (Henry is 43, Clare is 35). Henry arrives in the Meadow, hoping he will die quickly. He is shot almost immediately; when he looks at his stomach, he sees the bullet has torn it open, revealing his intestines. He goes into shock and yells Clare’s name. Before he catches a glimpse of her at 13, he finds himself back in his home in the present. Clare and Alba cry as they look down at him. He says them he loves them, telling them “world enough […] and time….” Clare screams his name as he dies.
Henry’s final words to Clare and Alba, “world enough […] and time,” allude to the Andrew Marvell poem “To His Coy Mistress.” Poetry, and this poem in particular, has held tremendous significance to Henry and Clare throughout their life together as a couple, encapsulating many of the joys and struggles they’ve experienced because of Henry’s time travels. As such, it is fitting that Henry calls on the poem to say goodbye to his family, and it also reinforces the book’s exploration of the transformative power of art and words.
Themes
There is no sound in the living room as everyone looks at Henry’s body except for a CD playing Billie Holiday. Someone turns off the music. Clare can feel the warmth of Henry’s skin and the weight of his body. She holds him as a pool of red forms around his body and trickles from his mouth. She can still hear firecrackers popping loudly outside. Gomez tells them they must call the police.
Throughout the book, the color red has symbolized the struggles of life, while the color white has symbolized the possibility of fresh starts. The abundance of red blood that appears around Henry’s mouth as he dies signifies the ultimate struggle and confirms that that will be no more opportunities for redemption or renewal—Henry’s life in the present has come to an end, even as the world around him ambles into a new year.
Themes
