44 pages 1 hour read

Isabel Allende

A Long Petal of the Sea

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

Themes

Exile and Belonging

Displaced from their homeland not once but twice by war and a military coup, Victor and Roser experience exile and the difficulties of emigrating to a new culture and land. They, like all the Republican refugees in the Spanish Civil War, have absolutely no choice but to leave their home country. They are fleeing for their lives. Likewise, Victor’s experience in the Chilean concentration camp demonstrates the danger that faces the progressives who remain in Chile during the Pinochet regime. Through these characters, Allende depicts the pain of separation from one’s homeland. All their relationships, including their ties to their native culture and community, are severed.

Once exiled, refugees often face hostility, as Victor and Roser do. The French certainly do not want them and treat them brutally. Their first hurdle is to find a new home, someplace willing to accept them. When they do, they form an immediate appreciation for and attachment to Chile and its people. To be sure, there are many in Chile who are hostile toward them. As immigrants, they must prove their worth more so than those born in the country. Victor and Roser, like so many of the Spanish immigrants, are more than happy to do so.

Related Titles

By Isabel Allende

Study Guide

logo

Daughter Of Fortune

Isabel Allende

Daughter Of Fortune

Isabel Allende

Study Guide

logo

Eva Luna

Isabel Allende, Transl. Margaret Sayers Peden

Eva Luna

Isabel Allende, Transl. Margaret Sayers Peden

Study Guide

logo

In the Midst of Winter

Isabel Allende

In the Midst of Winter

Isabel Allende

Study Guide

logo

Island Beneath the Sea

Isabel Allende

Island Beneath the Sea

Isabel Allende

Plot Summary

logo

Maya's Notebook: A Novel

Isabel Allende

Maya's Notebook: A Novel

Isabel Allende

Plot Summary

logo

Of Love and Shadows

Isabel Allende

Of Love and Shadows

Isabel Allende

Plot Summary

logo

Portrait in Sepia

Isabel Allende

Portrait in Sepia

Isabel Allende

Study Guide

logo

The Japanese Lover

Isabel Allende

The Japanese Lover

Isabel Allende

Study Guide

logo

The Stories of Eva Luna

Isabel Allende

The Stories of Eva Luna

Isabel Allende

Study Guide

logo

The Wind Knows My Name

Isabel Allende

The Wind Knows My Name

Isabel Allende

Study Guide

logo

Two Words

Isabel Allende

Two Words

Isabel Allende