Revenge
The theme of revenge sets the plot for the whole novel and also features greatly in the novel. The novel's antihero, Missakaela, is motivated by revenge in her plots. She seeks to bring misery upon the men and women of her village, and to a large extent, she is successful.
Through her schemes, Missakaela successfully ensnares the men in the village with her mystical seal women, even finding wealth in the process. Through this, she also denies the women of the village any chance of finding a husband, given that all the men are obsessed with her mystical seal women. As such, the vengeful Missakaela brings misery upon the lives of the villagers, giving them a taste of the despair she felt from being rebuffed and made a pariah of.
Oppression
The theme of oppression also features largely in the novel. We notice that the actions undertaken by the men of the village suppress the agency of the seal women and essentially relegate them to no more than mere trophies. Thus, we are able to observe how oppression affects the psyche and can often lead to rebellion, which is what happens in the novel.
Agency
Through the novel, we see in many instances how a lack of agency in the villagers as well as the presence of agency in the seal women influences their decision making processes and the actions they undertake.
All of the men in the village save one are obsessed with the idea of having a seal woman for a wife. Through this, we see how they are largely incapable of free thought and their decision making processes hinge on their collective identity as the men of the village. Even then, their lack of agency allows them to be easily manipulated by Missakaela.
In contrast, the seal women all possess a sense of agency and this drives them to rise up and rebel against their human overlords who have been suppressing this agency. Their individuality leads them to long to return to the sea and this acts as a fuel that drives them and their actions.
