Fragmentation

Fragmentation as a theme underpins the entire narrative. The characters themselves all represent varying states of brokenness. In Margaret Hughes' case, her personal fragmentation begins when she is a child. Being raised by a doting father and an emotionally unavailable mother results in Margaret's inability to connect with people on a meaningful level. The character's insecurities are compounded when she finds out that her family's fortune comes from property confiscated from condemned Jews during World War II. Margaret experiences an even more profound kind of fragmentation when her marriage fails and her eight year-old son is killed in a car accident. By the time she is diagnosed with a brain tumor, Margaret has become something of a recluse — surrounded by valuable objects which at one time belonged to Holocaust victims. Her only friends are the figurines in her mansion. Margaret's shocking decision to break the collectibles marks...