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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Miss Lonelyhearts, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Religion and Morality in Modern Society
The Illusion of the American Dream
The Limitations of Love
Isolation and Madness
Summary
Analysis
On the drive back to New York, Miss Lonelyhearts realizes that Betty has failed to heal him—he simply can’t forget the letters that people have written to him. When they return to the city, Miss Lonelyhearts becomes overwhelmed by the number of people there are and how deeply he wants to help them. The next morning in his office, Miss Lonelyhearts reads a long letter from a financially struggling and overworked mother whose husband has taken to tormenting her in their home, scaring her any opportunity he can get.
Although Betty brings Miss Lonelyhearts to her childhood home in a genuine attempt to get him away from the burdens of his job and the disorderliness of the city, she ultimately fails to make him forget the letters, which suggests that even the most caring of romantic partners can only do so much. In the end, it’s up to Miss Lonelyhearts to reclaim control of his life. Unfortunately, he remains overwhelmed by his perceived need to help all of humanity, implying that he’s still haunted by the suffering that surrounds him (which he learns about most often through people’s letters to the paper).
Themes
