107 pages 3 hours read

Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2014

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Symbols & Motifs

The Sea of Flames

The Sea of Flames represents the curse of man’s greed and hubris. In the legend of the diamond, the goddess who created the diamond as a gift for her lover, the god of the sea, curses her gift when it is stolen by a prince. The diamond’s curse dooms its owner to eternal life and all of his loved ones to death. To break the curse, according to the legend, the diamond must be returned to the sea.

Throughout the novel, which retells a portion of the history of the diamond, men pursue the diamond for its rarity and value, and through their actions the curse becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Whether cursed by a goddess or cursed by man’s own greed, the diamond remains a double-edged possession. The Sea of Flames, because of its value—as a rare 133-carat blue diamond—is a curse for whoever possesses it, because others will always want to steal it.

Von Rumpel’s obsessive pursuit of the diamond, which eventually leads to his death, exemplifies man’s own fulfillment of the curse.

Marie-Laure and Werner return the diamond to the sea, fulfilling the goddess’ wishes and breaking the curse. Symbolically, their relationship and agreement to break the curse represents each character’s goodness and lack of greed, but it also unites the German and the French people in the ending of the war, which was the particular curse of their generation.