Guilt
Guilt is the driving force throughout the story. After Sarah locks her brother in the cupboard, she tries fighting her way back to the apartment, guilty for leaving him there. It is also indicated that her guilt for leading her brother to his death, as well as losing her family in the camps is the reason behind her choice of suicide. Julia also feels a sense of guilt, and she wants to prove herself to her ex-husband and his family.
Remembrance of History
The plot that parallels between Sarah and Juliet is Juliet’s knowledge and want to learn more about the history of the apartment Juliet lives in. Juliet researches and feels guilty for what happened with Sarah, and she learn more and more about her life and the lives of her loved ones. William, Sarah’s son, did not want to learn about his mother life in the beginning. He later changed his mind, as he realized how important it was, and how big of an impact the history had on the way things are in the present day.
Who You Are
To the Nazis, Sarah was nothing more than a Jew. According to the French, Juliet was nothing more than an American. According to the Americans, Zoe was nothing more than a Frenchwoman. The whole book is plagued with people labeling each other with one sticker alone, not letting any other parts of identity take part in who they are or how they choose to treat each other. Sarah was a French girl at heart, and even though she was an ethnic Jew, she was not religious and did not grow up in a religious family. The Nazis deemed her an abomination anyway. This shows how bad labeling can be, and how difficult and hard the consequences can get.
