55 pages • 1 hour read
Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie BarrowsA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Three days after Mark’s departure, Juliet writes to Sidney that Eben introduced her to Peter Sawyer, who was arrested with Elizabeth in her attempt to hide a Todt worker. Peter tells her that during the Occupation, nearly every Islander had a vegetable garden, and Todt workers would often forage through them. One night, Peter caught a 16-year-old Polish boy named Lud Jaruzki foraging in his garden. Lud was so weak that he could not get up to crawl away from the hedgerow. Taking pity on the boy, Peter brought him to his home and decided to hide him from the German army. Elizabeth, who worked as Peter’s nursing aid, came the next day. He warned her off, but Elizabeth insisted on helping to nurse the child back to health. Eventually, however, someone noticed her many visits to Peter’s home, and German soldiers took all three of them away. Peter was sent to the federal prison in Coutances. Since they did not know how to handle a prisoner in a wheelchair, however, he was sent home after a week.
Dawsey informs Juliet that he and Remy will soon be back in Guernsey and that he wishes he could channel Juliet’s sunny nature—a comment that Juliet grows to resent because she believes it characterizes her as a “cackling buffoon.”
On August 1, Juliet contacts Sidney and tells him Remy has arrived in Guernsey, and though she appears reserved with everyone, she has taken to Kit. As she, Kit, and Juliet spend time together, Remy opens up about her time with Elizabeth and how the two had resolved to keep their heads down since they knew Berlin was being besieged and the war would end soon. Remy admits that she wishes her friend did not have such a drive to protect others.
Isola, meanwhile, writes to Sidney and informs him of her new position as secretary of the Society. She includes a copy of the first minutes she took, wherein Mrs. Winslow Daubbs reads from her own autobiography and the Society resolves to allow others to speak of their own writing. Sidney responds by providing her with a book on phrenology, and Isola henceforth decides to become an expert on skulls and their potential psychiatric indications by measuring everyone’s skull lumps. This makes Remy laugh for the first time since she arrived in Guernsey. Isola thanks Sidney for the book and tells him that she has gleaned useful insights about her friends, such as Juliet’s romanticism and Eben’s garrulousness.
After purchasing a bagpipe for Dominic, Sidney asks whether he can send one to Kit. Juliet responds by observing how her protective instincts have been growing for Kit. She wonders how the parents of evacuated children were able to go through sending their children away. She is especially impressed with Elizabeth, whom she recently found out had been the only one to comfort Eli before he departed on the boat by giving him a “magic badge” that would keep him safe but was, in fact, her father’s medal from World War I (WWI).
Since Mark’s visit, Dawsey no longer engages Juliet as he once did. She writes to Sophie that she asked Isola about her reading of his skull. Isola admitted that she is beginning to doubt phrenology because Dawsey does not exhibit the violence-prone node she was expecting since he had once almost beaten a man to death. The man in question, Eddie Meares, was mean-minded, according to Isola, and made a point of trading information for favors from the German authorities. A week after Elizabeth and Peter had been captured and deported, Eddie had been showing off a silver cigarette case he had received as a reward for reporting on Peter. Incensed, Dawsey marched to the local pub and beat Eddie to a pulp. Isola then explained that, until Elizabeth, Dawsey had been shy and never had a friend other than Eben.
Juliet then communicates with Sidney about the latest Society meeting. Isola presented old letters that her Granny Pheen had gotten as a child from a kind stranger who had heard about how Granny Pheen’s father had drowned her cat. Having convinced her that the cat was living off the rest of its nine lives, the stranger wrote eight letters detailing the cat’s new lives and adventures in France. Each letter was signed O. F. O’F. W.W., which Juliet presumes to be the shortened version of Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde, the full name of the writer Oscar Wilde. Sidney confirms that Juliet’s hypothesis may be correct and sends a graphologist to assess the letters. The graphologist confirms that the letters are indeed in Wilde’s hand, though a corroboration will need to be made by another Wilde scholar.
Billee Bee, Sidney’s secretary, writes to Juliet and tells her that she will come to collect the letters as Sidney is on a trip to Rome. Upon her arrival, Juliet notes to Sophie that Kit immediately dislikes her. Juliet admits to Sophie that she is considering adopting the child or, at the very least, becoming her guardian—though she fears what the other Society members will say and about practical logistics such as living arrangements. Later, Juliet tells Sidney that Billee Bee had insisted on taking the original letters back with her when Juliet and Isola offered copies. They all attend a Society meeting where they discuss The Canterbury Tales and the possibility of divine predetermination. For the first time, Remy speaks at the meeting, stating that God must be the devil if predestination does exist.
Susan sends an urgent telegram to Juliet and tells her not to give Billee Bee the letters, as she was seen with Gilly Gilbert, the reporter, who had insulted Juliet, and at whom she had thrown a teapot. Susan believes Billee Bee is scheming. She is proven correct when Juliet explains that, after reading her telegram, she discovered Billee Bee had tried to run away with the letters. She telephoned Dawsey and asked for his help. She, Dawsey, and Booker hurried to try and stop Billee Bee from leaving, only to find she had already been captured and shut in Isola’s smokehouse while Isola and Kit held on to the letters. When Dawsey questioned Billee Bee, she threatened to tell Gilly Gilbert about their treatment of her but was immediately reminded that publicizing this event would backfire. They sent her back to London empty-handed. Susan later informs Juliet that Gilly had wanted Billee Bee to steal the letters to get revenge over the teapot incident.
With the letters now safe, Juliet is visited by Remy and Dawsey, and she wonders in her letter to Sophie if Remy will ever feel truly comfortable in Guernsey, considering no one truly understands her harrowing experience in the concentration camps. She tells Sophie that she is still hesitating about adopting Kit. Kit’s current guardian is busy renovating the estate Elizabeth was meant to inherit so that it can become a rental for tourists. Two islanders, the Benoit sisters, later invite Juliet and Kit to tea. They tell Juliet how Elizabeth and Eben’s daughter Jane had often come to visit them. They throw darts at a photo of Wallis Simpson, the wife of the abdicated King Edward VIII.
A few days later, Juliet writes to Sidney about her outing with Dawsey and Remy. They go to town and are soon met by a woman walking her dog. Though Juliet plays with the dog, Remy is so terrified that she vomits. Dawsey and Juliet bring her to Juliet’s house, and while Remy is resting, Dawsey tells her Remy fears dogs because German guards would often use them to terrify the prisoners. Dawsey concludes that despite their good intentions, being in Guernsey is not helping Remy. Juliet tells Sidney she feels awful for holding on to the fact that all Dawsey feels for Remy is goodwill, not affection. Sidney replies that such a thought means she is in love with Dawsey. Grudgingly, Juliet agrees.
On September 7, Juliet sends a letter to Sophie wherein she explains how she finally told Amelia her plans for Kit. Amelia was so relieved that she cried and promised to assist Juliet with the process. In a show of trust, Kit then revealed the contents of the box she carries around. They are all small mementos of her mother and father: a man’s signet ring, a small note written by Elizabeth about Kit, pictures, and a book of Rilke’s poetry Christian gifted to Elizabeth. Juliet details the life she imagines for her and Kit, one that would be split between Guernsey and London, with their home in the former. Juliet then writes to Sidney about the one-on-one dinner she had with Dawsey during which she discovered that he has her book on Anne Brontë. After dinner and a lively discussion, she knows she has feelings for him. When she sees him the next day with Remy buying a suitcase, however, Juliet becomes miserable and believes her chance at love to be lost.
Isola begins to take down observations about the week beginning on Monday, though nothing of note happens until Thursday when Remy receives a fourth letter from the French government. On Friday, Sidney arrives and merrily greets Juliet and Remy. Isola notes that Dawsey quickly leaves after. On Saturday, the Society sets up for an evening picnic, and Isola observes that Sidney often stares at Dawsey as if assessing him. Dawsey seems lonesome to Isola and keeps away from engaging with Juliet and Sidney. At the picnic, Eben announces that Remy will be leaving for a baker’s apprenticeship in Paris the following Tuesday. Isola notes that Juliet, oddly, appears relieved, while Dawsey looks sad. Isola believes him to be in love with Remy, and she resolves that since Dawsey is so quiet, Remy would not believe her if she told him of his affections, so Isola decides to gather proof. She offers to clean Dawsey’s house for him as an early Christmas present, and on Monday, she sets off to his house both to clean and find her evidence. What she uncovers, however, are pictures of Juliet, the letters they have exchanged, her blue ribbon, and her handkerchief. It is only after unveiling these discoveries to Juliet later in the day and following her as she resolutely goes to find Dawsey at the Big House that Isola understands she was wrong about who loved whom. She overhears as Juliet asks Dawsey to marry her on account of her being in love with him. Wholeheartedly, Dawsey accepts.
Though Sidney has already left for London, Juliet writes him to come back immediately because she is to be married next Saturday. In her postscript, she adds that even Adelaide Addison approves of their union.
In this final group of letters, Shaffer and Barrows expose the depth of The Persisting Effects of War within the Guernsey community to provide catharsis and a way toward a more hopeful future. For most of the narrative, the authors deliberately left who had accused Elizabeth of harboring a Todt worker a mystery. Even after Peter Sawyer finally explains how he and Elizabeth had both worked to hide the young Lud, the identity of the person who had alerted the German authorities remains unknown: “But someone did notice, and someone did tell—I don’t know who it was” (227). This passage is significant because there are those in the community who are well aware of who betrayed Elizabeth and Peter to the Feldpolizei. Both Dawsey and Isola know that Eddie Meares is the culprit because of the silver cigarette case he received as a reward for reporting on Peter’s house. Yet, rather than expose him, they and all who heard Eddie brag about his earnings at the cost of Peter’s safety and Elizabeth’s life remain silent. This development reveals two types of community betrayal. The first is Eddie’s betrayal of two fellow islanders for a cigarette case he cannot even fill with cigarettes, since by 1944, all provisions of all kinds were scarce. The second is a betrayal wherein the community does not hold Eddie accountable for his actions either before or after the war. Only Dawsey enacts retribution in the form of beating Eddie up. Both betrayals are poignant, the authors underscore, as they expose the loss of innocence that is a major part of The Persisting Effects of War. The islanders all have to reckon with the compromises and betrayals they made during the war for the rest of their lives.
Yet as Amelia says of her son’s death and the end of the Occupation: “It’s death that goes on; […] there’s no end to that. But perhaps there will be an end to the sorrow of it. […] But already, there are small islands of—hope? Happiness? Something like them, at any rate” (114). The conclusion of the novel finds hope in the formation of new families and The Lasting and Unifying Power of the Written Word to keep the memories of those who have been lost alive. Kit’s box of memories contains pieces of writing that symbolize of her parents’ love for each other (Rilke’s poetry book with Christian’s inscription) and for her (Elizabeth’s note to Amelia about Kit). Furthermore, not only does Juliet become Kit’s new adoptive mother, but she also ensures that her biological mother will be remembered and honored for the woman she was. Juliet’s collection of stories about Elizabeth, though not an effective substitute for the woman herself, will nevertheless fill in some of the cracks in Kit’s quest for knowledge about her parents. It also lends to the theme of Dispelling Historical Monoliths that threaten to tar Elizabeth’s love for Christian as a sign of her collaboration with evil, revealing the nuances in the relationships that developed between some islanders and some Germans. As Juliet settles into her new role as Dawsey’s wife and Kit’s adopted mother, therefore, the authors gesture toward a new horizon at the end of their narrative, one hard-earned and still in need of hard work, but hopeful nonetheless—and enabled, as always, by the characters’ shared reverence for the power of the written word.
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