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Chapter 26: Will
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Five Feet Apart, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Sacrifice
Death, Grief, and Guilt
Risk and Consequences
Survival, Terminal Illness, and Hope
Hardship and Family Dynamics
Summary
Analysis
Stella wakes up to the bright hospital lights instead of the holiday lights at the park. Her parents, Barb, and Dr. Hamid are there. She asks about Will and hears his voice. He’s there too. Stella is relieved that he’s alive. She says that she doesn’t want to take the new lungs because it would make things worse for her and Will. Stella’s parents and Will all plead with her to take them. Stella remembers Abby (in her vision at the pond) telling her to live. So Stella agrees, and she is rolled away for surgery.
Aside from the difficult recovery Stella will have after the transplant, she will also be even further immunocompromised for the rest of her life. So, even though she will be overall healthier, she won’t be able to spend any time with Will. Will wants Stella to get the transplant because he wants what is best for her health, even though he is devastated that their relationship will have to end. Encouraging her to do the transplant is another selfless sacrifice he makes.
Themes
