Consumerism
One of Helga's major passions is buying beautiful things. She also admires people with style and money and judges the ones who don't care about such things. She lets other people manipulate her in exchange for elegant garments. With the emergence of department stores in the beginning of the 20th century, a consumerist society is shaped to which Helga belongs. Ironically, she ends up married to a preacher and has to live in the countryside where clothes and decorations aren't as important as in the big city.
Religion
Religion is a subject touched upon in the end of the novel. Impulsively, Helga Crane decides to join church and marry a preacher. However, her faith isn’t sincere, but is just a way for her to start a new life and run from her feelings towards Dr. Anderson. Eventually, she gets bored, but cannot escape the routine of the life in the countryside. The novel suggests that religion may change one's life only if it comes from the heart.
The feelings towards non-white people in Europe
Helga Crane's visit in Denmark opens the subject about how the Europeans perceive the colored people. Helga is admired like a museum artifact, an exotic creature, but the white community does not allow for her to fit in. Her own family makes her wear extravagant and provocative clothes in order to be noticed. Although she receives a lot of attention, she could never feel equal to the Danish people.
New beginnings
Helga's life is marked by series of new beginnings. She cannot stay happy for a long period of time and as she becomes more and more dissatisfied with her life, she always tries to seek her luck somewhere else. However, the novel suggests, that one should be persistent and try to fix things instead of running away. But in order to do that, Helga has to be honest with herself and acknowledge her own feelings instead of burying them deep down which is one of her major flaws.
