Beauty
Beauty is very important for every person, because during initial acquaintance people always pay attention to beauty. As people say, appearance is deceptive, but it does not concern the main character Astrid and her mother Ingrid. Ingrid insists that Astrid can use her beauty as a weapon or a key. It is not just a toy for other people or an object of use, admiration, contempt and envy. Beauty is not an excuse for dreams or like a picture on the white wall. Many girls want that all people use their beauty and dream about it. Ingrid considers that the beautiful appearance can be used everywhere – to seduce men, to get a successful job or just to be a super star or model. The main thing is to be born beautiful.
Maternity
The story of the relationship between Ingrid and Astrid describes all different complexities of the relationship between mother and daughter. These relations have a completely different meaning than those between mother and son, because there will necessarily be an admiration and incredible affection between mother and daughter. However, rivalry and envy can often creep in. Astrid loves her mother. Deprived of her father, Astrid idolizes Ingrid and she is ready for everything for the sake of her mother, even to kill somebody. Accustomed to her absolute admiration and obedience, Ingrid does not take into account neither her daughter’s desires, nor needs, nor her own responsibility. It causes a tragedy – Astrid lives in foster families with foster mothers. All the same, Ingrid continues to love her daughter and worry about her life.
Adoption and foster families
The endless sequence of foster families is like the circles of hell for the main heroine. Maybe, Astrid is just out of luck or her rock gives her especially difficult choice of foster families in order to make her character like a heavy armor. Children are given hope, which is taken away by an eerie reality. It is not surprising that sometimes children want to stay in orphanage. People do not understand that it is very difficult for orphans to be abandoned. Starr is a former alcoholic. Marvel is a boring housewife, who uses Astrid as a free servant or nurse. Amelia is an incredibly greedy person, who buys the luxurious things while Astrid dies of hunger. All these families and people are broken, in some way they are defective. They can destroy the whole essence of Astrid and her inner world. However, the girl survives and manages to save herself. All her foster families are like nightmares, which she overcomes.
Art
At first, Astrid sees her mother as an artist, who has horrible and incomprehensible ideas and fantasies. Nevertheless, she likes all works of her mother. Moreover, Astrid does not understand the meaning of Ingrid paintings, but they make a deep impression. Being an artist is like being a philosopher. Philosophers usually express their positions and thoughts, but artists show their thoughts in paintings or compositions. Art is given only to those people, who have a deep and rich inner world like Ingrid’s. Art is not clear as mathematics or physics. Art is different and therefore it attracts people with its infinity. Even all suitcases, in which Astrid depicts her life in foster families, have an endless memory of those pleasant or horrible days. Her suitcases are so different. They are an incredible embodiment of art.
