Carolyn’s answer to “So, what really happened to the diamond? Was it answered and I missed it, or was it left up to the…” > Likes and Comments
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I think the diamond was the string that connected the people, time and events .
I disagree.....Von Rumple's greedy pursuit of it created a suspenseful storyline. The diamond was very symbolic in many ways.
I agree, that it was important to drive the story. Her father leaves it with her because he knows they are looking for it. It's what keeps Von Rumpel an important part of the story as well, otherwise he would have just been a sickly military officer. And for me, I found that the diamond and its lore kept you wondering just a little bit as to whether it really did help you live forever.
I thought the diamond was a central character, a vehicle to portray the spectrum between honor and avarice; good and evil.
The diamond is a symbol of importance...it seemed of ultimate importance, that diamond....lives were given for it....but it was unimportant in reality. What was important, more important?
A Macguffin. These can certainly help drive fictional plots without being essential. See the Maltese Falcon.
I agree that the diamond part of the storyline could easily have been omitted as could have von Rumpel. This could have been a story of a boy and a girl caught up in the war and their lives cross.
Without the diamond, there is no reason for the German to pursue a blind French girl with restricted mobility during World War II. In nearly all cases she would pose absolutely no threat. The diamond was truly a curse that changed her father, her safety, and the obsession of Von Rumpel. It was a catalyst for the drama that occurred in the house making this book extremely suspenseful and unique from other stories about wartime bombardment.
Don't know what I was thinking whe, I posted that comment. I apologize...if course there are others. For me the diamond was symbolic of all the treasures, cultural and personal, the Nazis were tryi,g to take from the people. Others may have different answers.
Hear, hear! Yes, exactly my feeling on finishing the book. But on re-reading with my book group,I think the diamond story parallels the Nazi ethos: people believed Hitler's myth of the super race, and the myth killed. BTW I can't believe that, after she was a rational adult, Marie-Laure wouldn't have told the museum how to retrieve the diamond. No key needed, just power tools. That she continued to believe the myth is just too cheesy.
I liked the element of magical realism. In some ways, this is a very dark fairy tale.
It reminded me too much of the old dame throwing the diamond into the sea in the movie "Titanic".
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Vicki
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Feb 27, 2015 11:17AM
I think the diamond was the string that connected the people, time and events .
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I disagree.....Von Rumple's greedy pursuit of it created a suspenseful storyline. The diamond was very symbolic in many ways.
I agree, that it was important to drive the story. Her father leaves it with her because he knows they are looking for it. It's what keeps Von Rumpel an important part of the story as well, otherwise he would have just been a sickly military officer. And for me, I found that the diamond and its lore kept you wondering just a little bit as to whether it really did help you live forever.
I thought the diamond was a central character, a vehicle to portray the spectrum between honor and avarice; good and evil.
The diamond is a symbol of importance...it seemed of ultimate importance, that diamond....lives were given for it....but it was unimportant in reality. What was important, more important?
A Macguffin. These can certainly help drive fictional plots without being essential. See the Maltese Falcon.
I agree that the diamond part of the storyline could easily have been omitted as could have von Rumpel. This could have been a story of a boy and a girl caught up in the war and their lives cross.
Without the diamond, there is no reason for the German to pursue a blind French girl with restricted mobility during World War II. In nearly all cases she would pose absolutely no threat. The diamond was truly a curse that changed her father, her safety, and the obsession of Von Rumpel. It was a catalyst for the drama that occurred in the house making this book extremely suspenseful and unique from other stories about wartime bombardment.
Don't know what I was thinking whe, I posted that comment. I apologize...if course there are others. For me the diamond was symbolic of all the treasures, cultural and personal, the Nazis were tryi,g to take from the people. Others may have different answers.
Hear, hear! Yes, exactly my feeling on finishing the book. But on re-reading with my book group,I think the diamond story parallels the Nazi ethos: people believed Hitler's myth of the super race, and the myth killed. BTW I can't believe that, after she was a rational adult, Marie-Laure wouldn't have told the museum how to retrieve the diamond. No key needed, just power tools. That she continued to believe the myth is just too cheesy.
I liked the element of magical realism. In some ways, this is a very dark fairy tale.
It reminded me too much of the old dame throwing the diamond into the sea in the movie "Titanic".
