What is the theme in The Eskimo Connection by Hisaye Yamamoto?

Loneliness is a theme in the book. In "The Eskimo Connection" both Alden and Emiko are victims of loneliness, although in different ways. Emiko's husband is dead, and she describes herself in terms of what she has lost: her husband and her poetry. As "an aging Nisei widow in Los Angeles with several children, three still at home, whose main avocation was not writing poetry but babysitting grandchildren," Emiko cannot imagine what she would have in common with a young Eskimo prisoner; but her isolation encourages her to accept Alden's offer to exchange letters anyway. Besides her family, Emiko appears to have connections with very few people.