As the title suggests, "Chrysalis" shows Anggun's growth—both personally and musically—as prior to the release of the album, she divorced her husband of seven years, Michel Georgea. The divorce presumably inspired Anggun to write songs like "Still Reminds Me" and "Broken Dream," among others, on the album. The album also marked Anggun's artistic development, as a departure from "Snow on the Sahara" where she only co-wrote one song, on "Chrysalis" she co-wrote every song with Erick Benzi with exceptions of "Rain," "Tears of Sorrow," and "Non Angelical," (co-written with Cathy Grier and Erick Benzi) and "Comme un privilege" (co-written with Erick Benzi and Nicolas Mingot). Anggun's songwriting varies from heartbroken ("Still Reminds Me," "Broken Dream"), love-longing ("Breathing," "Signs of Destiny"), humanity ("Tears of Sorrow," "How the World...") even spirituality ("A Prayer") and a fan's obsession ("Want You to Want Me").