Editing Chocolat (novel) (section)

== Themes ==

=== Chocolate ===
The novel deals with the "conflict between indulgence and guilt, motherhood and patriarchy, with chocolate as the central metaphor."<ref name=":0" /> In the novel it represents "love, tolerance and forgiveness", as well as guilt and temptation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=londonlifewithliz |date=2019-05-10 |title=‘Chocolat’ author Joanne Harris on food, family – and heartbreak |url=https://londonlifewithliz.com/2019/05/10/chocolat-author-joanne-harris-on-food-family-and-heartbreak/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=London Life With Liz |language=en}}</ref> 

=== Motherhood ===
The relationship between Vianne and Anouk is central to the novel. Of this, Harris says: "My daughter was four when I wrote ''Chocolat''... I like to think that caused the change; for the first time I felt ready to write like a mother, to try and express some of what motherhood felt to me."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-02 |title=Joanne Harris on why she has returned to Chocolat, 20 years on |url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/joanne-harris-strawberry-thief-chocolat-sequel-275526?srsltid=AfmBOoq6s9T8gvH41pGtjBDJQQFcGE-UbzBNHD1tBqWq8odJXXWt0XSG |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=The i Paper |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Community ===
In ''Chocolat'' Harris also explores the ideas of community<ref name=":1" /> and "otherness," saying: "People who don’t belong are good at observing those who do."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Officer |first=SYP Web |date=2019-04-16 |title=Joanne Harris at the Oxford Literary Festival |url=https://thesyp.org.uk/2019/04/joanne-harris-at-the-oxford-literary-festival/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=The Society of Young Publishers |language=en-GB}}</ref> And Vianne is very much an outsider: she does not attend Mass, she has no husband, wears different clothes and makes no attempt to conform, which puts her in a good position to observe the people around her.<ref name=":3" /> 

=== Magic ===
Magic is an important theme in the book, but a magic that is "intertwined with daily life, symbolized through food";<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bozorova |first=Mashkhura O. |date=2024-08-26 |title=MAGIC REALISM AND ITS APPLICATION IN JOANNE HARRIS’S NOVEL “CHOCOLAT” |url=https://mentaljournal-jspu.uz/index.php/mesmj/article/view/597 |journal=Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal |language=en |volume=5 |issue=06 |pages=45–50 |doi=10.37547/mesmj-V5-I6-06 |issn=2181-1547}}</ref> the "domestic magic" of cooking. The [[The New York Times|''New York Times'']] says:<ref name=":2" /> <blockquote>The gods of legend may dine well in their celestial palaces, but the true sorcery of cooking cannot take place unless the cook and the guests are mortal. This paradox of the human condition is surely one of the messages of Harris's book - "so much loving preparation, so much art and experience, put into a pleasure that can last only a moment."</blockquote>Harris speaks of approaching the idea of magic in a "pragmatic way," exploring the individual's perception of what magic means as well as the more traditional view, and saying: "if it works, you don't have to name it."<ref>{{Cite web |title=In the Studio - Joanne Harris - Writing Chocolat - BBC Sounds |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0cmvp6k |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref>