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Part One: Chapter 2
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
The next time Anna sees Walter, she’s feeling much better. He asks if she always gets sick during the winter, and she explains that it’s not uncommon. She didn’t get sick the first winter she was in England, but she did get quite sick last year. After going to an orchestral recital, they both go back to Walter’s house, where they become a bit more intimate. Walter insists that he never thought he’d see Anna again after giving her money. But she reassures him by saying that she wanted to see him again. He then starts talking about how she’s a virgin, which completely ruins the romantic moment for Anna.
It’s unclear whether or not Walter is telling the truth when he says that he never expected to see Anna again. The fact that he sent her money suggests otherwise, as if he was hoping to entice her back to him despite his blunt and off-putting behavior. He, however, wants her to believe that he sent the money simply out of a sense of good will. But what Anna really wants, it seems, is to forget about the money altogether, perhaps because she now wants their relationship to feel organic and natural, not transactional and forced.
Themes
When Walter kisses Anna, she starts crying and saying she has to go, but then he tells her to be “brave.” After they have sex, Anna lies in his bed realizing she’ll always remember this moment. Eventually, she gets up and has some whiskey while looking into his mirror, which is how she sees him pick up her handbag and slip some money into it. Her initial impulse is to tell him not to give her money, but she doesn’t say anything, instead letting him do whatever he wants. As he puts her in a taxi, she asks him to write to her the following day, wanting him to send the letter early so she receives it as soon as possible. The taxi driver winks at her on the way home.
Anna isn’t ready to have sex, but Walter pressures her into doing it. While he might seem like someone who wants to care for her, then, it’s clear that he’s mainly interested in getting what he wants. Still, Anna’s attitude toward him appears to have changed, as she seems to actually want to pursue a romantic relationship with her. To that end, she doesn’t want him to give her any money, since doing so turns their relationship into a transaction rather than a bond of mutual affection.
Themes
