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Part One: Chapter 8
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
When Anna meets Walter, she smiles to reassure him that she won’t give him any trouble. She seems to appease him by doing this, but what she really wants to do is tell him that she needs him—it’s all right if they only see each other every so often, but if she never sees him again, she’s sure she will die. They start talking about the letter from Vincent, which Walter confirms he knew about. He avoids making eye contact with her. She asks if they can go back to his house, but he refuses. He claims to be worried about her and insists that she should let Vincent visit her to sort everything out, but she expresses her dislike for Vincent.
Walter wants to insulate himself from Anna’s misery by pawning her off on Vincent. Instead of recognizing that he’s being insensitive by suddenly abandoning Anna, he patronizingly acts as if he has made thoughtful arrangements for her. In reality, though, he’s just trying to avoid Anna by connecting her with Vincent. His lack of empathy thus underscores how little he ever cared about her on an emotional level.
Themes
Anna and Walter part ways without any sort of closure. The next day, she decides to find a new place to live. She writes Walter a letter telling him not to write to her old address. She doesn’t care where she lives, as long as nobody knows where it is.
Instead of accepting Walter’s financial assistance in the aftermath of their breakup, Anna decides to strike out on her own. In doing so, she refuses to take Walter’s false and condescending pity. She also challenges the transactional nature of their relationship—after all, if Walter doesn’t know where she lives, it’s impossible for him to send her money. In this way, she deprives him of his ability to feel good about himself by providing for her, thus asserting a certain kind of power over Walter for the first time.
Themes
