Life and Death
Life and Death is the most clear and obvious theme in the book, along with “being both”. Whist Georgie’s mother was alive, she suddenly died, leaving Georgie alone to fend for herself, picking up the pieces of her broken heart. All the while, the artist Francesco del Cossa returned from heaven to earth, from life to death to speak and learn together and from Georgie. Life and death are thus opposites, yet the same side of a coin.
Being Both
Life and death, being and not being all play a role in the whole meaning behind the book. Georgie doesn’t understand or wants to understand how it is possible for her mother to suddenly be gone, when she was together with her just a few days ago. The same goes for how Cossa perceives the world, understanding that there is an essence to things, the way they are and how they aught to be at the same time.
Moving on
The whole situation was brought on from the fact that Georgie wasn’t able to move on from the death of her mother, instead she spent her time overthinking about how bad the situation was and how seemingly bad she had been acting towards her mother. When Cossa comes to help her, he isn’t able to return before her mind was put to rest. Georgie was also moved by Cossa’s art, which led her to understanding both herself and the world better, through learning to move on.
