Family

The most prevalent theme in "The Light Between Oceans" is that of family, as the basic plot surrounds one couple's desperate desire to become parents regardless of the consequences. When Tom and Isabel first meet, Isabel asks Tom about his family and he says, "I'll tell you if you really want. It's just I'd rather not. Sometimes it's good to leave the past in the past" (Page 53). Tom has chosen to remove all memory of his family from his mind because remembering them is simply too painful. His parents split up after his father discovered that his wife, Tom's mother, was having an affair. His relationship with Tom disintegrated when he discovered that Tom had known of the affair even though he was just a child. For the rest of his life, Tom lived as a motherless child, not unlike many of the other characters in the novel...