Family
In the country of Illéa, families in the lower castes are forced to band together in order to raise the funds necessary for their survival. Instead of an individualistic perception of their places in the world, the characters understand themselves as part of their collectives, and as an extension of that, their castes. Kota is depicted as a selfish individual because he took the money he made from his metal sculpture and kept it all in order to attempt to ascend to another caste. And it is America's loyalty to her family's wellbeing that keeps her in the competition long enough to fall in love with Maxon, as her family received payment for her participation that far surpassed any compensation they ever received for being artists. (This dynamic is troubling in other ways, as it monetizes America's very person and implies payment for whatever romantic gestures the contestants might make in the competition.) The familial nature of the way that power operates in the country also ties into this theme. The queen's status as a mother is discussed at length, as well as America's own understanding that if she were to become queen, being a mother to future princes and princesses would be a large part of her role in the palace.
Poverty
Many people suffer from poverty in The Selection. In Illéa, the Six, Seven, and Eight castes are all depicted as including people suffering through poverty, and even the Singer family in Five live restricted lives due to their financial status. The way in which poverty is most crucially understood in the novel, particularly because America has suffered it herself, is through food scarcity. Aspen has also suffered from hunger to a more severe degree than has America, and because of this, food becomes a resource that symbolizes love in their relationship. Although there are certainly other negative effects of poverty on Illéan society, such as homelessness, a lack of education, and the loss of freedom for some, food becomes a metaphor for the necessary things in life that should be universally accessible but become restricted for many in instances of severe inequality. America's hunger is a point of conversation between her and Prince Maxon, as she is vocal about her appreciation for the meals in the palace. America uses her history with hunger in order to convince the prince that there is inequality in his kingdom, and he institutes a food scarcity program in the palace in response. This is implied to be the first of many steps the prince will make in response to the suffering of his subjects.
A woman’s role
There are no women in the novel who are presented as having genuine power over their lives. Even the queen gains her role through a Selection process, and she clearly holds less political power than her husband or her son. Her function in society is essentially that of a mother and wife. The other women in the novel, save Silvia, who acts as a mouthpiece of the state and works to train the girls in decorum, are all presented as being either potential wives or servants. Physical beauty is emphasized as the means through which women might be able to change their positions in society. This messaging complicates a feminist interpretation of the novel. This dynamic is mirrored in the story of America's two older siblings. Although both were able to ascend out of their positions in society, her older sister Kenna does so by marrying upwards, and it is implied that her beauty is part of what has helped her do so. Her brother, Kota, by contrast, ascends by creating a spectacular piece of art that he is able to sell for a massive amount of money. Although America knows her limitations due to her gender, she does not let them dictate what she will do with her life. Although her options are limited, she fights for the ability to choose between them. This makes her stand out among the many who acquiesce to the system.
Love
At the begging of The Selection, love is considered to be a thing that doesn't always last for people who lead stressful lives, as well as something that is frivolous and shouldn't be brought into consideration when planning one's life. This is contrasted by the Selection process, where the romantic exploits of the prince are televised for the entire country to see, and love is presented as the ultimate force, that might bring one lucky girl out of poverty. It shows how in stratified societies even those things that are free end up being harder to obtain for those at the bottom. For people like America's mother, love is a fanciful prospect that does not address the needs of her family. For people like America, love is enough to encourage her to marry down a caste. She is willing to trade anything for her love with Aspen. Later, it is her love with Maxon that encourages the prince to open his eyes to the inequality in his country. It is implied that he might never have appreciated the truth of the suffering of his subjects if it were not for his relationship with America. The conclusion is that love, as elusive and inconvenient as it can be, can also be transformative and eye-opening. Still, it is important that America does not force herself to love Maxon, and remains honest about the nature of her feelings toward the prince. Not only does this highlight her honesty, but it implies that true, reciprocated love is the only kind that should be honored in the end.
Political Power
Centralized government is hailed in The Selection as the only recourse that might protect citizens from outward aggressors. A strong centralized government is part of the only protection the weak country has against foreign threats, but it is this very centralized government that causes so much suffering among the subjects. As the narrative progresses and we gain a sense of how the government of Illéa works, we realize that its citizens have essentially been brainwashed by their government into accepting the status quo. In a stratified monarchy like Illéa, where the majority of the population suffers due to the strict caste system and oppressive laws, messaging about political power helps maintain the status quo. America begins to question the status quo throughout the novel but maintains that peace in her country is superior to the alternative.
Political Propaganda
Propaganda is used as a tool of the elite in order to keep their hold on power and control the masses. Because it is made abundantly clear that centralized power is weak in the country of Illéa, the king and the rest of the ruling structure work to maintain a certain level of ignorance in the country. They do so by hindering the spread of information about the country's history, blaming any sort of setbacks in the country to the actions of rebel groups, and not least by promoting the Selection itself, which distracts people from the political process of the country. When placed into a modern context, the books hint that media, particularly reality shows like The Bachelor, off of which the Selection is modeled, might be part of a similar trend. It encourages readers to ask why they consume the media that they do, and wonder as to what information might be overlooked as they do so.
Colonization
The history of Illéa speaks to the dangers of colonization, as in The Selection's speculative history, the old United States of America was conquered by China and then Russia in a series of wars that weakened the nation and robbed it of its wealth. This history interestingly stands at odds with the actual history of the United States, which has itself colonized a number of nations and exploited them for their wealth, people, and resources. The colonization of the continent in the seventeenth century by settlers from Europe began this process, and although the United States eventually grew into a powerful nation, part of this power has come from the very colonization that the author vilifies countries like China and Russia for potentially committing against the United States. In some ways, The Selection reads as a warning of history's tendency to repeat itself, and presents colonization as a terror that must be avoided.
