“In his extreme youth Stoner had thought of love as an absolute state of being to which, if one were lucky, one might find access; in his maturity, he had decided it was the heaven of a false religion...”
The novel handles the need for love and lack of it thereof through the protagonist Stoner and his family. Stoner has always needed affection but failed to truly find it in his childhood and subsequently in his adulthood. The assertion highlights how he transitions from a hopeless romantic into a cynic because of lacking it. Even when he finds a wife, she is cold and indifferent towards him which hurts their relationship and their child also. Stoner, Edith and their daughter Grace all crave love from one another but ultimately not finding it due to the incompatible spouses and an abusive parent.
“A war doesn’t merely kill off a few thousand or a few hundred thousand young men. It kills off something in a people that can never be brought back.”
The novel tackles aspects of mental anguish through several characters due to distinct reasons that range from lack of affection to trauma. The assertion highlights the issue of post-trauma that is experienced by returning veterans. Stoner takes notice of the change in returning veterans, in that warfare takes something out of an individual that cannot be undone. In the narrative there are different levels of mental issues handled for instance Edith suffers from depression which in turn emotionally hurt those close to her. Thus, demonstrates the impact of mental anguish and how it is transferable in one form or the other.
