Xenophobia
Guadeloupe is a remote village in France. In the context of the book, the village is small, but it is actually a thriving city today. Apparently the villagers were suspicious of strangers in town because it was such a rare occurence. Because of the diversity of residents, they all cling to their own traditions adamantly. They are threatened by the complexity of their social structure, so they do not respond well to outsiders, preferring to keep their problems "within the family" so to speak. Sancher has his work cut out for him when he rolls into town.
Death
Although Sancher is only known in his absence after his death, he is supposed to have been terribly aware of death, it having had a profound influence on his life when his dad died before the age of fifty. Apparently he believed that his family was cursed and that he would not live to see 50-years-old either. Rather than living in fear of sudden death, he seems to have embraced the curse. He lived with a vibrancy which defied death and welcomed it all in one gesture. He lived in a manner which would leave him with no regrets if he died tomorrow. At his funeral, everyone talks about how proudly he looked into the face of death and refused to all it to defeat him. They all admire his attitude, unable to continue their lives as they were before meeting Sancher.
The Error of First Impressions
If the villagers of Guadeloupe had followed their instincts, not one of them would have embraced Sancher, and they all would have missed the legend that he became. They lived in a manner which was threatened by strangers. They were insecure. After Sancher refuses to take no for an answer, one by one the village began to trust him until he was an icon amongst them. Sancher made an impact on everybody just by being himself. In the end they all learn that denying something isn't a way to defend against it. They needed to embrace change and be hospitable to stranger in order to realize that both could be beneficial to their otherwise closed culture.
