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Chapter 15
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Gender Roles, Acceptance, and Freedom
Class, Social Hierarchies, and Respectability
Obedience vs. Rebellion
Racism and Solidarity
Summary
Analysis
Charlotte sleeps for 14 hours before waking up, although she initially thinks her watch has not been called. It’s only when she goes up to the deck to find both watches working that she realizes she has been left to sleep. She asks the sailors what’s going on, and they reluctantly tell her that Jaggery believes she murdered Hollybrass; all of them seem to believe him. Charlotte, horrified, turns to confront Jaggery, only for him to come up to the deck and charge her with murder. He has Barlow bring her down to the dank, dark jail, where she will wait until her trial the next day. Charlotte sits, frightened and wounded by the crew’s loss of faith in her. Suddenly, she hears footsteps. When she calls out, someone responds by saying her name. A light is lit, and Charlotte sees the face of Zachariah.
Much like what Zachariah experienced prior to his punishment, Charlotte experiences firsthand the pain of having the crew leave her alone to Jaggery’s wrath. Although they’ve come to like her and conversely hate Jaggery, the captain has nonetheless managed to use his power to turn the crew against Charlotte, showing how strong his authority is on the ship. However, the reemergence of Zachariah, who has functioned as Jaggery’s opposite throughout the novel, provides a glimmer of hope that Charlotte’s situation might change.
Active
Themes
