Hope

Throughout the sadness of Loretta's death and the subsequent difficulties for Darcy, Jamie, and the entire family, Darcy maintains hope that this sadness will not last forever as well as that their family will someday feel whole again and begin their lives anew. She rationalizes their fears and changes in the hope of recapturing some semblance of how she was before and through finding new love with Tom and reconciling with her brother.

Despite the clarity and immediacy of Darcy's love for Tom since childhood, she somewhat refuses to acknowledge this truth until they are directly confronted by it. She seems hopeful that he will be willing to have a relationship with he renovates Loretta's house, reacting with profound sadness and emptiness at the reality that he still refuses to be open with her physically and emotionally. Additionally, he does not demonstrate a complete understanding of...