Selfless
In the novel The Illness Lesson, Clare Beams reminds readers that the world can be a better place when people start thinking of the well-being of others. Each person is responsible for making the world a better place by supporting others to succeed. In The Illness Lesson, Samuel is a selfless man who wants to educate girls so that they can have a fruitful future. Single-handedly, Samuel builds a girls’ boarding school in his village to empower women to exploit their potential. Samuel works closely with his daughter, Caroline, and David to ensure the school runs as scheduled. According to Beans, Samuel’s act of humanity makes the world a better place.
Ignorance
Throughout the novel, the author depicts Samuel as ignorant because he intentionally ignores what is obvious. When the red birds first appear in Samuel's home, a strange disease attacks his wife, and unfortunately, she dies. The birds are a sign of bad luck. Samuel's daughter hopes those birds will never reappear in their home because they signify bad luck. After several years, the red birds reappear in Samuel's home. Caroline reminds her father of the symbolic meaning of those red birds, but he refuses to take her seriously. Caroline feels something bad is about to happen, but the father thinks the contrary. A few days after the red birds' appearance, all the girls in Samuel's boarding school contract a strange disease. Even after the outcome of the appearance of the red birds is evident, Samuel still lives in denial, and he argues that the birds have nothing to do with the girls' strange disease.
The body
The author uses the body to exemplify the societal problem of understanding women. When a strange disease strikes the Trilling Heart School, the girls try to express their feelings, but men refuse to listen. In particular, Samuel, David and the male doctor refuse to listen to the girls' complaints. The doctor administers a wrong diagnosis because he refuses to listen to the girls' opinions about the symptoms. The author uses this theme to show readers that men habitually misunderstand women.
