What is the theme in Friend of My Youth: Stories by Alice Munro?

Repression and guilt are major themes in all of the stories in this collection. Each story has a sinister or uneasy undercurrent, some more obvious than others, as the author shows the reader the darker side of human nature. Many of the stories feature people in dark frames of mind. Some are depressed, some are paranoid, and most try to repress feelings of guilt, shame and desperation. Good examples include Murray in Orange and Apples, who is overwhelmed by paranoia and dread, and Almeda in Meneseteung who is driven into a kind of hysteria by the oppressive small town to which she belongs, and the violence and pain that the town chooses to ignore. There are plenty of stories that feature women struggling with feelings of guilt and shame brought on by acts of betrayal.