Themes

The central theme of the novel is based on the inherent goodness and beauty of existence and mankind's failure to appreciate them. The theme is worked out by the structuring of the acts around the stages of life. Act I deals with birth and everyday life. The act is cluttered with ordinary people, daily routine, family relationships, and growing up. Act II, which focuses on love and marriage, continues to reveal the ordinary things in life. The third act centers on death in juxtaposition to life. It is only after Emily revisits the earth as a spirit that she realizes that humans fail to appreciate the beauty of life; they do not cherish the joys of birth, family ties, flowers, warm breakfasts, education, and thousands of other things that are taken for granted. Instead, they fret about the most inconsequential matters and fail to relate to one another. Death, therefore, becomes the healer that ends the pain and conflict of living.

Table of Contents | Printable Version