Superficial Beauty
The motif of superficial beauty features prominently throughout the novel and is a reflection of the shallow nature of the human mind. From the very beginning of the novel, we find out the Missakaela is rebuffed and outcast by the village simply because she is morbidly obese. The men of the village are later smitten by the seal women and lost interest in the women of the island simply because the seal women are more beautiful, at least on the surface.
Through this motif, we see how the human mind is often shallow in its judgement of other people and is obsessed with beauty that is literally only skin deep.
Missakaela
Missakaela herself is a symbol of oppression. Her powers allow her to command the seal people to do her bidding. This is no different than the relationship between a slave and its master. Furthermore, the manner in which Missakaela uses her powers further epitomizes her as an oppressor, suppressing the agency and individuality of others.
The Skin of the Seal Women
In another sense, the skin of the seal women acts as a symbol for inner beauty. The men of the village fail to realise that without shedding their skin, the seal women are actually not as beautiful as they seem. Yet in spite of this, the men still fall in love with the seal women.
Through this symbolism, paralleled with the motif of skin deep beauty, Lanagan masterfully presents the idea that beauty is often more than skin deep, yet people are often only obsessed with what is on the surface.
The Seal Women
The seal women are also another symbol of oppression. Through the crude manner in which they are suppressed and kept on land, Lanagan is able to weave the theme of oppression into the novel.
Marriages
Marriages in the novel, especially those between the men of the village and the seal women, act as allegories to traditional gender roles. In these traditional gender roles, men are portrayed as the dominant party in the relationship whereas women are generally deemed as insignificant, submissive, docile, and lacking in freedom of thought.
