Love and Money
The theme of love in the short story is depicted in two aspects – the vital need, and the feeling, which can be easily neglected. Louisa considers that love is the birthright of every person on the Earth. Everybody needs love, and to give love in response. Her family is more pragmatic than she. For them love plays the second role, after money, because money gives safety and confidence. One can easily live without love, but without money it is impossible. But what is better: to live rich but unhappy with the person you hate, as Mary did, or have less money but know that the rest of your life you will spend with the person that makes you happy, like Louisa has chosen? It is up to each person to decide this eternal question of money and love, but one should remember that there is nothing worse than regret.
Poverty
Poverty makes people lose their dignity, it puts them into moral knees. When people don’t have money to buy bread and milk, they don’t care much about moral values; they are ready to do everything to have at least anything to feed the family. Lindley family was poor, they have a lot of children, who wore rags and every day for the family was a struggle with their poverty in order to make their ends meet. Mrs. Lindley was an invalid and later her husband also fell ill and only two elder daughters worked to feed their family. And when Mr. Massy proposed Mary, she accepted it, although it was like a torture for her to marry this short disgusting man, because he was rich, and she needed money, her family needed it. Mr. and Mrs. Lindley supported their daughter, and considered it as a “wise” decision. At least one of their children thinks of the reputation of the family, they thought. But money doesn’t bring happiness – they bring just temporary satisfaction, after which the bitterness of regret and unhappiness remains.
Relationship between parents and children
The problem of parents and children will always be topical in every time, under different social conditions. Their relationships are extremely complicated: thousands misunderstandings, lies and scandals, but nevertheless, they still love each other. In the story this theme is vital, parents influence our life, like Mrs. Durant influenced the life of her younger son Alfred, his life was centralized on her and after her death he felt broken and miserable. Parents influence our life choice, as it was with Mary, who decided to marry Mr. Massy just because she felt that it was her duty, she did that for her parents, so they could be happy. Mr. and Mrs. Lindley didn’t show any warm feeling toward their children and it is difficult to say what their real attitude was, but, like every parents, and like Mrs. Durant, they wanted the better life for their children.
Marriage
Marriage is a conscious unity of a man and a woman. Every marriage should have a basement – something strong, what can be a guaranty of its strength and stability. As a rule, the role of the basement plays love – the beautiful feeling which makes hearts beat faster. But, there are cases, when love is not taken into account and on the forehead come another interests, for example, money, like it was with Mary Lindley and Mr. Massy. But very soon Mary realized her mistake and wished she were dead and didn’t see her husband. As it happens, such kind of marriage brings nothing but disappointment and regret, because one cannot be happy with unloved person by side. But when marriage is between two people who are in love, situation changes: they don’t care about money, the only thing that means for them is that they have each other and together they will overcome all the troubles on their way. It is the real marriage, when both are happy and each day is full of love and support.
