Revenge
Tilly's chief aim is to enact revenge on the people in Dungatar who did her wrong and sent her away all those years ago. Her entire life was upended because of the prejudices, secrets and betrayal of the townspeople. Thus, part of her reason for returning is so that she can get back at the people who harmed her. Part of her method for getting back at them is by virtue of the fact that she has lived a rich and full life away from Dungatar. She became a great designer and dressmaker, and this makes her superior to the people she left behind. It also allows her to manipulate them, because she has a power that no one else in the town does.
In other ways, Tilly's revenge is much more direct. She sabotages the Dungatar theater competition by designing for the opposing town, tells Mrs. Pettyman information that causes her to kill Mr. Pettyman, and lights the entire town on fire. The film is, at its core, a revenge narrative, the story of a woman enacting vengeance on an evil town that has hurt her.
Small Town Prejudices
Dungatar is a small town and as such it is not particularly welcoming or openminded. The citizens of Dungatar do not take kindly to anyone who seems in any way different. This is part of the reason Tilly and her mother, Molly, get so maligned by the townspeople. They are suspicious of them both because they do not have power in the town. The film examines the ways that a small town with very particular social politics ostracizes people who do not fit in.
Tilly's life turns around when she realizes that it is not she who is cursed, but the town of Dungatar itself. Once she realizes this, she feels empowered to fight back and enact her revenge. It is then that she realizes that the town taught her to hate and blame herself, when the town was to blame all along.
Secrets and Omissions
Most of the characters are guilty of lying by omission. This is such a regular occurrence that it actually becomes a theme. Teddy does not tell anyone that he knows the true circumstance of Stewart's death. Molly knows that Evan Pettyman is Tilly's father but has never told her daughter this. In fact, she does not share the information until Tilly puts her on the spot about it. Evan, too, knows that Tilly is his daughter. He never mentions this to anyone and even seems to lie to himself by facilitating the actual physical removal of Tilly from Dungatar so that he does not have to be confronted by the results of his infidelity.
The film looks at the ways that omissions and secrets are toxic in a small town, as they are part of what allows prejudice and gossip to flourish in the community.
Maternal Love
When Tilly first arrives in Dungatar, Molly, her mother, denies even knowing who she is. She is referred to by the other townspeople as "Mad Molly" and does not even admit to having had a daughter or understanding that she has returned. As Tilly stays in Dungatar for longer, she manages to help Molly to heal from her mental blocks and begin to see Tilly as her daughter. Molly opens up and becomes more affectionate towards Tilly, eventually becoming one of her primary cheerleaders. She encourages Tilly to take care of herself, to keep going, and to make her life better. Thus, we see that Tilly's connection with her mother becomes an important theme in the film, a way that she reconciles herself with her tragic past.
Creativity
One of the gifts that Molly gives to Tilly is getting her to believe in the power of her own creativity as a dressmaker. When Tilly arrives in Dungatar, she causes a scandal, but she gets people on her side by designing dresses that transform different townspeople and make them feel good about themselves. Later in the film, after Tilly has faced some horrible tragedies, Molly urges her to remember that she has a special power in Dungatar, the power to create and transform. She urges Tilly to use this skill to get back at the people of Dungatar. Thus, we see that creativity is a liberating force for Tilly, and it also is what allows her to get vengeance on the people who have wronged her.
Tragedy and Resilience
Tragedy is a major theme in the film as well. At the heart of the film is the fact that Stewart Pettyman died as a young child. His death had tragic consequences for Tilly, who was sent away from her family at a young age and has believed that she is "cursed" ever since. Additionally, even after Tilly has acclimated to life in Dungatar, she encounters some horrible tragedies, when Teddy drowns in the silo and then when Molly dies of a stroke. In key moments, when it seems like Tilly has no one else to rely on, she loses the two people who care for her the most. In these moments, she must practice resilience and heal from the losses to keep going.
Closure
At the start of the film, Tilly arrives in Dungatar, gets off the train, and says to herself, "I'm back, you bastards." From this moment on, the viewer knows that Tilly has some unfinished business. There are events in the past that she needs closure on, but that seem almost impossible to parse out in the present. By the end of the film, Tilly is finally able to achieve closure, but it is not until she has lit the whole town on fire. The ending of the film mirrors the beginning, as she boards a train, just as she emerged from one at the start, but now she has achieved closure.
