A Flicker in the Dark

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1, Chapter 5

Part 2, Chapters 6-47

Part 3, Chapter 48

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

Part 3, Chapter 48Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3, Chapter 48 Summary

A month later, on the day she had planned her wedding to be, Chloe drives to Hattiesburg to see Daniel’s sister Sophie and return her ring. Sophie informs Chloe that Daniel is inside, but Chloe insists on leaving. Sophie asks about Chloe’s father who will soon be released from prison. Before leaving, Chloe traps a firefly in her hands and thinks of Lena before setting the firefly free.

Part 3, Chapter 48 Analysis

The opening paragraphs of Chapter 48 describe the beautiful weather and the importance of what would have been Chloe and Daniel’s wedding day. Willingham misleads the reader to believe that Chloe’s story ends with her marriage to Daniel. However, rather than relying on a marriage to symbolize a new chapter in Chloe’s life and her healing from the horrific events of the novel, Willingham focuses on Chloe’s individual development separate from a male partner, supporting the theme of Women’s Empowerment. Daniel does not appear aside from his voice calling from another room. Instead, Chloe meets Daniel’s sister Sophie for the first time and returns her wedding ring to her. A family heirloom, Sophie’s wedding ring symbolizes the traditional path toward stability that Chloe previously sought out earlier in the novel.