The knowledge brings shame and finally reconciliation for them both. One obstacle Harry doesn't have to overcome is self-pity. Her self-consciousness is a necessary means of addressing the world and finding her place in it. She is linked by common knowledge and common trials to her forebears. Harry experiences terrible loss and failure before she can move on.
Willful rebellion matures to compassion.
Faithful to life's struggles and richly peopled with flinty characters, ''Unbroken'' is a wise and satisfying novel.