Dysfunctional Families

The author uses this theme to highlight the complicated relationships among the members of the Butler family and demonstrate how strained connections tend to blossom out through a family tree, affecting each person in turn. No one in the Butler clan is untouched by dysfunction, and these strains become more pervasive the longer they are ignored.

Althea is still angry that her father was absent during her childhood, and consequently she resents Lillian, who did have their father around while she was growing up, and fails to adequately support her daughters. She has been repeating the mistakes her father made with her while raising Baby Vi and Kim, though her father was literally absent and she has merely been emotionally unavailable. And just like her father seemed to prefer Lillian, Althea has given preferential treatment to Baby Vi, resulting in Kim becoming so angry that...