What are the motifs in Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes?

A recurring idea in the story is Love and Grief. Flaubert's Parrot also deals with relationships and grief. In many ways, Geoffrey is trying to avoid his own grief and pain over Ellen's death by creating an obsession with Flaubert. Geoffrey says that he feels he knows Flaubert better than Ellen, but it is also the case that examining Flaubert is safer than examining his relationship with Ellen. He can not express his grief for her because of the complications in their relationship. Her affairs and his knowledge of them created a wedge between them and Geoffrey can not decide if they were happy or unhappy in their relationship. Geoffrey's not even entirely sure if she loved him.