Intimacy and understanding
Although he tends to be shy and withdrawn, Leo is anything but distant. He is curious and in-the-moment, and he notices his emotions. When he realizes that his emotions peak when he sees Mardou, he jumps on the opportunity for intimacy. Something about her personality is scrutinizing and sensitive, and he feels instinctually that if he can tell her how he feels, she will love him, because they are compatible, he feels.
Beatniks and romanticism
The Beatnik generation is represented by the friends that Leo makes in his attempts to grow as a person. The cool people in his scene are free thinkers, and so is Leo. Leo has just been dormant in his mother's home, because there have not been enough people around him who he identifies with to bring him out of his shell. By the end, as he reflects, he must consider whether he was truly "a beatnik," or whether he just hung out with cool people. This demonstrates that he is being romantic about his own cultural identity.
Life and family
At 28, having never had any children, Leo is in a state of innocence about the true goal of social life. He realizes some things quickly, that he feels more established by hanging out with people who share his point of view, but some things are hidden from him still. By the end, as he reflects on Mardou, on his fascination with her, on his social success in their coupling, it occurs to him—his goal was to start his own family. His thirst for life was this thirst to be in a community with Mardou and their baby.
