What are the motifs in The Book Shop by Penelope Fitzgerald?

Fear of change is a recurring idea. The 1960s were a time of change for women and the class system. The changes and some of the struggles are noted in The Bookshop. At the very beginning, Florence wonders whether she was taking on too much while she watched the heron battle the eel for survival. The notion of a widow becoming a business owner is considered brave. The bank manager, Mr. Keble, both warns her of the uncertainties to be brought by the 1960s and later muses that he had feared she might jolt them out of their old ways altogether.