47 pages • 1 hour read
Marta MolnarThe Secret Life of Sunflowers
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Impact of Mental Illness
Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and discusses the novel’s portrayal of mental illness and death by suicide.
Much of the conflict surrounding Johanna stems from her brother-in-law’s and her husband’s mental illness. Before marrying Theo, Johanna is aware that Vincent suffers from bouts of melancholy. Mental illness is not well understood in the setting of late 19th century, so Theo worries deeply when Vincent suffers such bouts because little can be done to bring him out of these moods. At other times, Vincent’s illness causes him to harm himself physically, such as when he cuts off his ear. This and similar actions cause Vincent to be deemed “mad”—a condition that brought with it a deep stigma in the 19th century. Those who were labeled as such were frequently regarded as beyond help or even dangerous. Theo, however, wants desperately to help his brother because he believes that the illness masks Vincent’s true goodness. Ironically, the novel portrays Vincent’s mental illness as potentially instrumental in his art, providing not only a means to access his creativity but also an outlet to express whatever inner demons may have plagued him. This portrayal employs an established trope that connects mental illness with creative genius, relying on poetic (i.e., unscientific) models of the mind that engage with concepts of “madness” that are often stigmatizing and inaccurate.
When Vincent’s mental illness leads to his death by suicide, Theo is both deeply saddened and guilt ridden. He blames himself for Vincent’s death, believing he should have been able to help Vincent. Theo’s notions indicate his society’s lack of understanding of the nature and complexity of mental illness. As time passes, he senses his own struggles with mental health. Indeed, Dries has warned Johanna about this challenge. Though a genetic link to the brothers’ mental conditions is not fully explored in the novel (and wouldn’t have been understood in the late 19th and early 20th centuries), Theo’s condition is evident to Johanna. She recognizes how Theo’s grief overcomes him and watches as he eventually loses his faculties. Like Theo with Vincent, Johanna desperately wishes to help. She believes that keeping Theo close to her and out of a psychiatric hospital is key to solving his mental distress. However, due to the poor understanding of mental illness, treatment of this sort would also be insufficient. Importantly, Johanna believes that the illness Theo displays at the end of his life is not a reflection of his true self. She focuses on his love for her and shows him the same kind of dedication he had shown to Vincent. Her love for and loyalty to Theo, then, motivate Johanna to complete his goals after his death.
Gender Norms and Expectations for Women
Both Emsley and Johanna face conflicts because of the societal limitations placed on women and the limiting notions of women’s abilities. From the beginning, Violet provides a model for Emsley of a woman who defies social norms. Violet is unapologetic about being outgoing and enjoying the spotlight. She is brash and unrestrained, but her talent as an artist earns her respect, making these qualities praiseworthy, rather than off-putting. Importantly, Violet recognizes the challenges women experience in breaking into the art world and uses her own success to help other female artists, such as Strena. To Emsley, it is immediately apparent that Violet has worked to make their path easier than hers had been.
Emsley, in her desire to succeed in her career, faces challenges because she is a woman. Early in the novel, she notes the ways that several male would-be clients insist on dealing with Trey, her male business partner, instead of her. One client even goes so far as to proposition Emsley sexually, furthering a stereotype that a woman’s only asset is her sexuality and that she is not intelligent enough to manage a business. Emsley’s business is important to her, and she refuses to allow Trey to buy her out. Violet and Johanna, who faced similar obstacles as women, inspire Emsley’s perseverance.
Indeed, Johanna Bonger faces intense challenges as a woman. Initially, she is uncertain as to whether she wishes to marry. She wants to make an impact on the world despite her mother’s insistence that a woman’s function is to smooth the way for her husband to make such impacts. She does not give up on her aspirations, however, even once she is married. In some respects, Johanna carries out traditional roles for women: She emotionally supports her husband throughout the challenges of his own career as she raises their child and cares for domestic tasks, but she is still an unconventional woman. After Theo’s death, she is determined to achieve his goal of ensuring Vincent’s work is given its due. In some sense, she is working in service to her husband, but, as Johanna becomes more and more immersed in this goal, it becomes her goal. Frequently, she is refused by agents who don’t take her seriously because she’s a woman. When she decides, ultimately, to forgo securing an agent and represent Vincent’s work herself, Johanna is taking revolutionary steps, taking on a career that no woman has embarked upon. Ultimately, it is this action that leads her directly to achieving her goal.
Perseverance Through Adversity
Much of the novel’s conflict is driven by characters’ plights to overcome obstacles that stand in the way of their goals. In the opening chapter, Emsley reveals that her business, the auction house Ludington’s, is struggling to stay afloat. Both of her business partners immediately wish to dissolve the business, but Emsley protests. When Trey proposes taking the business’s focus in a different direction, Emsley remains firm: She conceived of the business concept herself and is unwilling to relinquish it. Her unwillingness to give up or give in to challenges is a trait Emsley learned from Violet and one she most values. Indeed, her goal for the auction house is to host events that will raise funds for stroke research, a cause important to Emsley because of Violet’s condition. Though money is an obstacle, Emsley does not give in when none of her would-be investors are interested in helping. Instead, she repeatedly revises her approach until she raises the funds needed to establish a New York branch of the business.
All the while, Emsley is inspired not only by the memory of her grandmother—whose success as a woman artist in the early 20th century came about through a great deal of tenacity—but also by the story of Johanna Bonger. Johanna initially rejects Theo because she does not love him. Determined to live a life of purpose—and to marry only if she is in love—Johanna attempts a teaching career but is unsuccessful. But by proceeding with caution, she ultimately enters into a loving relationship with Theo as romance develops between them in Paris. When Theo experiences mental illness and is hospitalized, Johanna remains deeply committed to him. She refuses to be denied visitation even though hospital personnel advise against it—and Theo himself says he does not wish to see her. This tenacity and unwillingness to give up on her goals serve as effective training for Johanna after Theo dies and she takes up his goal of promoting Vincent’s art. She is frequently turned away with no consideration given to Vincent’s work. Because Theo is so important to her, his goal becomes Johanna’s goal, and she refuses to give up. Like Emsley, she revises her strategy several times when she realizes it would be unwise to pursue a strategy that isn’t working. Finally, when Johanna takes the risk of representing Vincent herself, she reaches her goal.
