The folly of the human condition is the recurring idea in the story. What makes life worth living? Many would say other people, but how many of our relationships are truly pleasurable? Sarah Kane's work makes the unusual leap into disappointment that, surely, many individuals experience in life.
Audiences are used to watching wounded individuals heal through love, but Kane dramatizes the other side of that equation. Many wounded individuals have their worst fears about humanity confirmed and are further degraded. Certainly, her first stage couple, Ian and Cate, are abusive and doomed to failure.