Religion
Frado feels lonely and abandoned. She looks for explanation of the situation in the world. Religion, and God, becomes for her the source of this explanation, it is faith in God and Heaven , where she finds comfort. The theme of religion is not deeply opened in the novel, but it is essential in building up Frado’s personality. Once she heard the minister saying that the Heaven is open for everyone with a good heart, and the color of one's skin does not matter. Frado managed to save her good and white heart, nevertheless the treatment in the Bellmonts house was severe upon her – she was often whipped by her mistress. Religion helped her to save all the goodness and warmth of her own.
Friendship
In the Bellmonts’ house, Frado also endured real friendship – Jack, James, Jenny and aunt Abby always treated Frado sympathetically. They protected her from Mrs. Bellmont in the frames of their possibilities, but these frames always turned to be too narrow comparing with those of Mrs. Bellmont’s, who made Frado do as much work about the house that all her daughters combined could never have accomplished it. Each of Frado’s friends had done something for her, that formed her personality and helped to become an individuality. In this meaning friendship is important, but still its power was never strong enough to protect Frado from constant whipping, which later influenced her health in a bad way.
Family
The Bellmont family, though big in number, cannot be considered as an example of a family to follow the image of the family created in the novel is rather repulsive. Though bonds among brothers and sisters are of good nature, the main figure of the family – the mother – is the reason children leave the house as soon as an opportunity turns up. The story is left with an open end, but it is known that Frado has left her child as well as she has been once left herself by her own mother. In the Bellmont family, Frado witnesses little kindness of motherhood as well. Thus her overview of the world has not been built on the true meaning, understanding and place of the family in the life of a child. Frado has never experienced, nor had she witnessed family bonds tied by everlasting love and care.
