The changing nature of relationships
In each of the relationships profiled in Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, the characters' relationships change substantially over time. As with life, certain things and different attitudes cause the relationships in Murno's collection to start (or even end). For instance, after Edith and Sabitha decides to craft fake love letters to Sabitha's father, Ken, from a young woman named Johanna, their relationship changes. Initially, they become closer at first, but eventually grow apart, leading to revelations about Ken's past life and relationships. Critics have pointed to such realism as one of the most important aspects of Murno's work; it reinforces that the characters in each story could be real and that they could be just like the collection's readers.
