Time of Abstinence
In the beginning of the movie as the preacher starts his wordings about the season of Lent which is a period of abstinence and penitence. We, ironically, are shown scenes which are the opposite of restraint. We see an old person hiding a dog in his jacket in the church, a lady steals from a purse in the church. As the season of Lent continues in the movie we see more and more of people’s self-restraint come loose. Instead of penitence and abstinence, we see self-discovery and desires reigning supreme.
Tranquilite
In the beginning, we learn that the town believes in tranquility. Ironically, the Comte de Reynaud dictatorial obsession with tranquility leads the town to put up facades and even do chaotic things to maintain order, which makes the town anything but tranquil. Even leading one citizen, Serge, to light a boat filled with people on fire to preserve their “tranquility”.
Controlled Chaos
The town introduced in the first few scenes of the movie sets up a very shiny picture of the town. It shows a town mayor welcoming everyone to church. The church is completely full. And we are told about the town’s preference for peace and quiet. Ironically, we later learn that the town is anything but shiny. We see it controlling it’s citizen’s through fear and making everyone an enemy of his own self by stopping their self-expression.
Word of Man
At the beginning of the movie the priest gives a speech detailing the citizens about abstinence in the season of Lent. But as the story progresses we see that the priest is rather newly appointed and is, in fact, obeying the commands of Comte de Reynaud. The priest gives his speech and clearly paints Vianne, the chocolate maker, as a villain and we learn that the speech has been supervised by Comte de Reynaud. Ironically, a priest is meant to speak the word of god yet here he speaks the word of a man who schemes, without regard for what is right, for his beliefs.
Forgetting one’s own Happiness
Vianne’s story, as shown to us by the movie, is that of a wanderer that goes from town to town with her daughter trying to save the people and wishing to bring joy to their lives. We see Vianne and her Chocolatiere Maya shop bring the town a lot of pleasure and smiles. Yet when she gets disheartened by the fire incident and goes about her routine of moving to another town we learn that her daughter isn’t comfortable with their nomadic lifestyle. Often throughout the movie, we see hints of her daughter’s displeasure for their lifestyle. The irony here is the helper, who goes from town to town to save people and their happiness, forgot to save herself and her daughter's happiness. However, by the end of the movie, she finally chooses herself and her daughter’s happiness and does not leave with the north wind.
