THEMES - THEME ANALYSIS

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the most important theme. Throughout the unfolding of the memoir, each character must come to grips with the concept of forgiving each other. Mom and Dad neglected their children in so many ways and should be punished, but their children also need to understand that forgiveness is for themselves as well for their parents. As long as they harbor bitterness in their hearts for how they were raised, they will never find the contentment they deserve. Lori and Jeannette are the two who come to this realization first while Brian comes to it less quickly and Maureen never finds it. Lori was always the peacemaker, so she can accept and live with Mom and Dad's peculiarities more easily. Jeannette had such a bond with her father that even when he stole from her and allowed another man to molest her, she couldn't find it in her heart to stop loving him. She actually had the ability even as a young child to understand why her parents behaved the way they did and put their destructive habits behind her. Brian was fairly forgivable as a child but whenever, as an adult, he sees an abundance of food on a table, he seeks recrimination for his parents who could have provided the same food had they cared enough. Maureen is the one who can find no forgiveness in her heart for her parents. She was never able to deal with being left to raise herself and her search for someone to care for her ultimately led to her mental breakdown and distancing herself from her family.

Sometimes the most mature and responsible people in a family can be the children, not the parents

Another theme tells us that sometimes the most mature and responsible people in a family can be the children, not the parents. All of the Walls siblings must learn how to take care of themselves and as a result, they have a better grasp of how to love good, righteous lives. Jeannette, Brian and Lori quickly learn, not only how to take care of themselves and each other, but also how to make adult decisions. They mature and grow faster than the average child, but they also suffer the consequences by having to parent their mother and father who live in worlds of their own. Even after they leave these self-destructive individuals, they find themselves parenting again, when their parents follow them to New York. It is now a fact of life that youth is taking over for old age.

Fearlessness and Loyalty

Fearlessness and loyalty are two traits that the Walls children soon learn they must assimilate. They are children and should be protected and comforted, but they must take over for their neglectful parents, be fearless in the face of adversity, and at the same time, remain loyal to the ones they love. For example, Jeannette frequently must go from bar to bar to find her father. She has to face molesters to help her father win a pool game, and then she must be loyal enough to help him home and still love him. That is the unique quality of this family that allows them to want to be together even when the neglect continues.

Lost Dreams

The last theme involves lost dreams. The family, especially Rex, has always dreamed of the day when they have enough money to build a glass castle. It is symbolic of a dream that everyone knows will never come true, but to which they cling anyway. It's only when Dad realizes he's lost his children and that he's dying that he can close up the blueprints for the last time and finally let it go. It is poignant and touching when the Glass Castle disappears from their minds, but it is also a sign that the children at least have accepted that their lives ate now going in different directions.