Humans versus animals
The main theme in the novel focuses on the differences and also on the similarities between humans and animals. Rosemary and Fern were raised together, as sisters, and as a result they ended up influencing one another more than one could imagine. Fern was not the only one who adopted a certain type of behavior but Rosemary as well and this goes to prove that animals and humans are not as different as one would think. Both species can end up influencing the other but in the end what remains obvious is that no matter how much someone tries to change one’s nature, it is impossible to do it completely.
Animal abuse
The time when the novel takes place is important because it marks the birth of various movements against animal abuse. Until then, laboratories were free to do whatever they wanted and more than often their cruel behavior remained unregulated. This all changed and animal rights groups began pushing for a fair and humane treatment of animals. Some of these organizations however took a dark path and instigated their followers to destroy public property and put the lives of thousands of people in danger. Because of this, their members were hunted down by the FBI and characters like Lowell became forced to stay away from their families and to live a lonely life. However the impression left here is that none of the characters regretted what they did and instead they tried to convince more people to join their cause.
Unreliability of memories
The novel analyzes various psychological aspects and terms and while psychology is considered by many characters as not being a science but rather just a joke. Despite this, Rosemary mentions on numerous times the idea that memories are sometimes unreliable. The novel is told from her memories and it focuses on Rosemary’s recollection of the past but even she sometimes questions the reliability and truth value of her memories. She agrees that sometimes a person may change involuntarily some memories of the past so they could make better sense of the present and because of this Rosemary thinks that some of her memories, for example the one in which she remembers her father running over a cat are actually false memories.
