Freedom from Confinement
A central theme in the novel is of freedom from confinement. The characters are all confined in some way shape or form: Mary yearns for literal freedom and wants desperately to escape the confines of their village. The freedom she desires though comes with a steep tradeoff; danger and death wait for her outside the border of their community in the form of the Unconsecrated. Even within the walls of her village, Mary lives out her life as little better than a prisoner. She is forcibly left in the care of the Sisterhood under the oppressive care of Sister Tabitha. Travis, Harry, Cass and Mary all enter into marriage for the wrong reasons and it ends up becoming a trite farce as they are now stuck with partners they don’t really love, again, becoming a figurative prison.
Love
The novel, despite the violence, has love as a frequently featured theme. Love is the drive that motivates the characters and it manifests itself in many ways. Maternal love for the orphan Jacob fuels Cass’ uncharacteristic bravery. Love for his community is what pushes Harry to commit acts of heroism. Jed’s fraternal/familial love is what finally spurs him to get over his past hurts and forgive Mary.
Hope
Above all else, hope is what keeps the characters afloat in the maddening environment that they’re in. Hope that there is a future and a life where they do not have to live in constant fear and danger. Hope that beyond the confines of their community there is a place that is free from the oppressive presence of the Sisterhood. Hope that they can find and nurture love and passion for the people that they truly want to be with and not the people that they settle for because of convenience and circumstance. Hope in a future that is better than present conditions.
Sacrifice
Tied up to the theme of hope is the theme of sacrifice. In order to achieve certain objectives some hopes had to be upheld, despite the odds. In order to achieve certain goals certain conditions maintained or at times certain costs had to be paid--regardless of how questionable... Mary found her ocean eventually but it came at the cost of lives, namely Jed, Cass’, and Travis’, lives. Sister Tabitha maintained the peace and order of their community ironically by sacrificing her humanity--and the lives of others. All these sacrifices though are done for the sake of achieving an end. The real question is though is this: does the end justify the means?
