The Nightingale

Isabelle returns to France after meeting with an M19 agent and securing funding for safe houses, false papers, etc. She now lives on her own, and as she lets herself into her apartment, she senses Gaëtan watching her from across the street: “‘Now who isn’t ready?’ she said. It hurt, [his] silence, but she understood it, too. With all the risks they were taking, love was probably the most dangerous choice of all” (287). She continues her work as “the Nightingale” through the following winter, traveling to Brantôme in March to meet two pilots she will escort into Spain.

The winter of 1941–1942 is colder than the previous one, and America’s entry into the war has caused the Nazis to “become angrier, meaner” (288). With no income and dwindling rations, Vianne is forced to accept food from Beck to feed Sophie, though she eats as little as possible herself. While going to church one morning, Sophie notices that her mother looks tired and ill; Vianne insists that she is fine but faints on the way back home. Beck carries her inside and tells Sophie to fetch Rachel, who scolds her friend for giving all the food to Sophie. Beck does the same when Vianne gets out of bed the next day, and she agrees to take better care of herself for her daughter’s sake.

By May, the weather has improved, but the occupation is harsher than ever: “The Gestapo and the SS were everywhere, looking for saboteurs and resisters. It took nothing to be called a terrorist—just a whispered accusation” (300). One day, Sarah comes to Vianne’s home and begs her to help her mother, who is extremely upset. Vianne visits Rachel, who explains that a new law requires Jews to wear yellow Stars of David at all times. Vianne suggests moving to the Free Zone, but Rachel points out that Jewish citizens cannot get travel passes. With Vianne’s support, Rachel explains the situation as gently as she can to Sarah: “‘We’re Jews,’ Rachel said. ‘And we’re proud of that. You have to remember how proud we are of it’” (304).

During the summer of 1942, Sophie becomes very sick, and Beck gives Vianne the medicine that potentially saves Sophie’s life: “She took the bottle from him. For a second, they were both holding it. She felt his fingers against hers” (307).

By July, Isabelle has brought 87 men across the Spanish border, and her contact in M19 advises making fewer crossings because the Germans are searching for the Nightingale. Isabelle is determined to keep going, but when she returns to Paris, Anouk has another assignment: “The Germans are recruiting women for clerical work on Sunday night. Double pay. All very secretive” (311). Isabelle reports for her job that same night, where she is given a stack of cards listing names and addresses and told to “separate the foreign-born Jews” (313).

When Isabelle spots a card with Lévy’s name, she feigns sickness and goes to her father’s apartment. She is concerned, but her father does not think the French police would cooperate in any seriously anti-Semitic actions. However, as they talk, a pamphlet is slipped under the door announcing that all foreign-born Jews are being arrested and deported. Isabelle and Julien begin going door-to-door in their apartment building to try and hide all the Jewish residents. They succeed in alerting one family, but Isabelle arrives at the second door the same moment the police do. To no avail, Isabelle attempts to persuade the woman to leave her two French-born children in her care. The mother says, “[W]e are safe with the French police. We’ve been assured. And a mother can’t leave her children. Someday you’ll understand” (320). Isabelle lets the matter drop, worried that drawing attention to herself will jeopardize her other activities with the resistance.

Hours later, Isabelle tells her father she is going to venture outside to see what is happening. A policeman tells her that those they arrested are being taken to the Vélodrome d’Hiver, and the police have orders to shoot anyone who resists. Isabelle runs to the stadium, where she sees thousands of French Jews:

All she saw were people, bodies crammed together, families trying to hold on to each other in the melee. The police shouted at them, shoved them forward toward the stadium, yanked children and mothers to their feet when they fell (325).

A policeman tells Isabelle that all foreign-born French Jews are being deported to work camps in Germany.

Meanwhile, in Carriveau, Vianne and Sophie are running errands when they notice that the police are out in force. As Vianne drops off rations at Rachel’s house, Beck stops by to warn the women that Rachel “should not be at home” the following morning (328). After Beck leaves, Vianne urges Rachel to try crossing into the Free Zone or at least hide in the barn cellar.

That evening, Vianne finds Beck staring at a photograph of his family; he says that “[b]ad things are happening” (331) and he is worried about his role in them. He tells Vianne that while it would be dangerous for Rachel to attempt to cross the border, staying may be even more dangerous. Vianne is determined to accompany her friend to the checkpoint and asks Beck to ensure Sophie is left in her grandfather’s care if Vianne does not return.

Later that night, Rachel, her children, and Vianne walk to the border. The women say their goodbyes near the checkpoint, and Rachel—carrying false papers—gets in line. However, just as she and her children reach the checkpoint, there is a commotion, and a guard begins firing at random, shooting Sarah in the chest. Vianne and Rachel manage to get her back to Le Jardin, but it is clear that she is fatally injured. Rachel therefore lies and tells her daughter that they successfully made it to the Free Zone. Vianne insists that Rachel take Ari and hide in the cellar while she digs a grave for Sarah next to those of her own lost children.

After burying Sarah, Vianne goes inside to rest, declining to tell Sophie what is wrong until after they have run errands. When Sophie asks whether Sarah can come over, Vianne reveals that Sarah is dead. She attempts to console Sophie, saying that Sarah is in heaven, but Sophie rejects her mother’s comforting; she understands that Sarah’s Jewish faith put her at risk. Since they are standing beneath the apple tree, Vianne points out the yarn she tied around a branch for Antoine and suggests tying a scrap of fabric there for Sarah.

That afternoon, Vianne visits Rachel in the cellar, telling her that she did not see anything happening in town. She thinks Rachel should spend another night in the barn but agrees to let her first fetch diapers and bathe. When the women reach Rachel’s house, they are met by a policeman, who arrests Rachel over Vianne’s protests. Vianne insists on accompanying her friend into town, where people are being herded to the train station. Beck is there, holding a whip, and as Vianne watches, a fleeing woman is shot in the back. Rachel begs Vianne to take Ari and go, which she does.

At home, Vianne struggles to explain to Sophie what is happening: “There was no way to protect her daughter from all of the evil around them” (347). Finally, she tells Sophie the truth about why Rachel was deported and admits she does not know whether they will see her again. In the meantime, she says, they will care for Ari.

Vianne ties another scrap of fabric to the apple tree for Rachel. Beck approaches her, and Vianne confronts him, asking “How […] it feel[s] to whip a Frenchwoman?” (349). Beck insists that he tried to help and that the change in scheduling was beyond his control: “The Wehrmacht aren’t in control anymore. It’s the Gestapo and the SS. They’re more…brutes than soldiers” (349). Beck admits he suspects that all Jews will eventually be deported and that shielding Ari will be dangerous for Vianne. She questions whether Beck will inform on her, and when he says he wants to protect her, the two nearly kiss: “But when he looked at her—and she looked at him—they both knew that there was something worse than kissing […] It was wanting to” (351).