Themes
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
Anna’s first weeks working for Ethel are mostly characterized by Ethel’s frequent tirades about how “respectable” her business is—especially compared to some other people she knows in the massage business. Within days of putting her advertisements in the paper, several detectives come to investigate the operation. When Ethel teaches Anna to give men manicures, she tells her to be especially nice to them. If she does everything correctly, there’s no reason she can’t ask for a shilling or even more for her work. It’s not Anna’s fault, Ethel adds, if the men think they’re going to get something more than a straightforward manicure. And if a man gets angry that Anna hasn’t done enough, he surely won’t make a fuss, since he’ll want to keep his original intentions quiet and discrete.
Ethel insists that her massage business is a straightforward, respectable operation, but she also has no problem letting her male customers think they might be able to pay for more than a massage (that is, to pay for sex). Even her advertisements are seemingly suggestive, considering that detectives come to investigate the business after seeing them. Ethel therefore uses the power of suggestion as a way of charging high prices, knowing that she’ll be able to get away with this because nobody will want to admit they were hoping to pay for sex.
Themes
After three weeks at Ethel’s, Anna stops going out, preferring instead to sleep and think about Walter. Her mopey attitude displeases Ethel, who’s very happy when Laurie comes to visit Anna. Ethel is impressed by Laurie’s good looks, remarking that she must be the kind of woman men want. Once in private, Laurie asks Anna what it’s like to work as a manicurist, and Anna tells her that only one man has asked her to go to bed with him. When she refused, he left immediately. Laurie laughs, saying that Ethel must have been upset; she thinks Ethel probably wants Anna to have sex with the customers, despite what she has said.
The fact that Ethel likes Laurie so much is telling, considering that Laurie is—for all intents and purposes—a sex worker. When Ethel remarks that Laurie must be the kind of woman men want, she reveals her desire to hire women who will attract men with their beauty and sex appeal. In keeping with this, Laurie can tell that Ethel wants her business to operate like a brothel, even though Ethel has gone to such great lengths to claim otherwise. Her unspoken expectations for Anna, then, are much different than she originally suggested.
Themes
Anna goes out with Laurie and two men. She doesn’t return until very late that night, which makes Ethel angry. The next day, Ethel confronts her and says it was very inconsiderate of her to not say she’d be back so late, since Ethel waited up so long for her. She also complains about the business. Nobody ever comes for a manicure until five in the evening. She’s so angry that she pours herself multiple drinks and then goes to sit alone and mutter to herself about how bad business is. That evening, a man comes at five.
Ethel sends conflicting messages. On the one hand, she insists that her business isn’t a brothel. On the other hand, she insinuates that she wants Anna to have sex with the male clients. And yet, she also complains that nobody comes for a manicure until the evening—which, of course, is a way of complaining about how everyone thinks her business is a brothel. In a sense, then, the business she’s running isn’t respected as an “above-board” operation, but she still doesn’t even get to reap the financial benefit of running a brothel.
Themes
Suddenly, Anna hears a huge commotion and runs into the massage room, where she learns that the massage couch broke and the client’s foot landed in a bowl of hot water. Ethel blames Anna for making the water in the bowl too hot. The man, for his part, is very upset and in visible pain. After he leaves, Anna starts laughing. Ethel is enraged. She says that Anna is always so glum and depressing to have around; now that something serious has happened, though, she’s laughing. Ethel tells her to find another job and another place to live. She thought Anna would be nice to the clients and useful to have around, but she was wrong.
Anna hasn’t lived up to Ethel’s expectations. Ethel clearly thought Anna would attract clients because she’s young and beautiful, but that hasn’t been the case. Therefore, she has no reason to keep Anna around, especially now that she laughs at this mishap with a customer.
Themes
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Anna accepts the idea of leaving and is, for all intents and purposes, unfazed by what Ethel has said. Just as she’s about to go, though, Ethel bursts into tears. She mentions that Anna didn’t even invite her to go out with Laurie and the others, which made her feel like she wasn’t good enough for them. She also says she desperately needs to make some real money. She’s always alone, too, and her life is wretched. She takes back everything she said earlier—she doesn’t want Anna to leave. In fact, if Anna leaves and doesn’t come back soon, Ethel vows to kill herself. Anna assures her she’s just going for a walk, and Ethel reiterates that she’ll kill herself if Anna isn’t back in an hour.
Ethel’s emotions are all over the place. Although she mainly cares about having Anna around for financial reasons, it also becomes evident in this scene that she depends on her for a sense of companionship. Still, though, their relationship remains very transactional: Ethel gives Anna a job and a place to live, and in return she expects to make money off of her and—short of that—to feel a little less alone.
Themes
On the street, Anna imagines going to Walter’s house. As she thinks about him, she slips a bracelet he gave her over her knuckles. When a man passes and mutters something inappropriate, she follows him and imagines punching him with the bracelet around her fist. But then she sees a police officer eyeing her, so she turns around. Feeling that she’s about to cry, she gets on a bus and returns to Ethel’s flat, where Ethel has undergone a total transformation. She warmly welcomes Anna back and apologizes for her behavior, but Anna doesn’t care—all she wants to do is go to sleep.
Anna experiences a violent impulse when a passing stranger makes a lewd remark about her. Her reaction is a sudden bubbling up of anger, as if all of the sexism and mistreatment she has put up with throughout the novel have finally reached a breaking point.
Themes
