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Part One: Chapter 7
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Voyage in the Dark, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Homesickness, Memory, and Belonging
Sexism, Love, and Power
Race and Identity
Money and Happiness
Summary
Analysis
The letter waiting for Anna is from Vincent, who informs her that he’s writing on behalf of Walter. This is a very difficult letter for him to write, he claims, but the fact of the matter is that Walter is no longer in love with Anna. However, he thinks that Anna has nothing to be too upset about—she has her entire life ahead of her, after all, and love isn’t the only important thing in life. He tells her to enjoy the outdoors and read good books, both of which he thinks will bring her happiness. But he apologizes for preaching and adds that he and Walter have included 20 pounds for her to use for now. Walter, for his part, also wants her to feel like she’ll be supported financially—for a while, at least.
Anna’s friends have already hinted that wealthy older men tend to lose interest in their younger lovers after a while, but Anna hasn’t paid much attention to these warnings. Sure enough, though, Walter abandons her. Worse, he doesn’t even have the courage or dignity to break things off himself, instead having Vincent do it for him. And Vincent, for his part, informs Anna of Walter’s feelings in a very callous, patronizing way, essentially acting like Anna has no reason to feel sad or hurt by what has happened.
Active
Themes
Vincent asks Anna to write back to him instead of making direct contact with Walter. It’s better if they don’t see each other for now. As for Vincent, he still wants to help Anna’s theater career—he thinks she could succeed with some hard work. Before ending his letter, he requests that Anna send him any letters she received from Walter.
Vincent’s request for Anna to give back all of Walter’s letters suggests that Walter wants to effectively erase any evidence of their relationship. It’s unclear why he’d want to do this, other than that he perhaps doesn’t want Anna to have any sort of power over him—if, for instance, he said things in those letters that might embarrass him, he doesn’t want Anna to use them against him. The end of their relationship is therefore just as transactional as the beginning, with Walter breaking things off with Anna in the same way that he might terminate a business deal.
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Themes
After reading the letter, Anna reminisces about the West Indies and then decides to contact Walter. She sends him a telegram saying that she wants to see him as soon as possible. He responds quickly, saying that they can meet at a nearby hotel at 9:30.
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