Love
As the title suggests, this movie is a love story, but it is far more that that; it is a story that seeks to define what love actually is, even in an anachronistic way. Throughout the movie, the characters seek to describe everything that they are feeling. Jenny says that "love is never having to say you are sorry". Oliver repeats this to his father after she has died.
The theme of love encompasses so much; the movie shows the sacrifices made for love, both by Oliver and by Jenny. Oliver sacrifices his family and his inheritance. Jenny sacrifices her continued education and her career in music. Yet to both of them, there does not seem to be a sacrifice at all because they want to be with each other more than they want to be anywhere else, with anyone else, doing anything else. Oliver also shows a protective streak and tries to hide the truth of her health from Jenny in an effort to protect her.
Opposites Attract
One of the lesser themes of the movie is that of opposites attracting. Oliver and Jenny come from very different worlds. Oliver is the heir to the fortune of a wealthy family who have paid for him his entire life. He is well-educated, fortunate and on a fast track to success. He is a jock, a varsity hockey player on a scholarship, and part of the Harvard elite. Jenny is from a working class family and has not grown up around much money at all. She loves classical music, and she is a music student, not the typical "athlete girlfriend" that one might imagine Oliver to have, Yet at every moment in their relationship their differences are what brings them together. They have similar personalities but their backgrounds and family structure could not be more opposite.
Tragedy
This is one of the most melancholy, sad movies of all time and its tragedy is also one of its themes. The couple have fought against the odds and made many sacrifices in order to be together, and they have endured difficult times as Oliver is in law school and Jenny takes a teaching job to support him. Finally as things seem to be looking up, Jenny receives a devastating diagnosis, which ultimately brings about tragedy.
