What is the main theme in the novel, Thirst for Love?

The principal theme of the novel is expressed in the ironic title. The love the woman endures from her fatherin-law is like water to a person dying of typhoid fever: He longs for it, but it does him no good — perhaps even aggravates his torment, just as it was the cause of it at the beginning. Her love for the young farmer is the same thing in a twisted way: She longs for it but rejects it violently when it is offered to her.