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Chapter 14
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
By the next day at noon, Miss Lonelyhearts has come down with a fever. He shouts, “Christ! Christ!” In this feverish state, Miss Lonelyhearts believes that his transformation into God is complete, and he starts to plan his new life with this new identity. Then, the doorbell rings, and Mr. Doyle is at the door, holding a gun wrapped in a newspaper. Not understanding that Mr. Doyle has come to kill him, Miss Lonelyhearts tries to embrace him, believing that in doing so, he’ll be performing a miracle and easing the suffering of Mr. Doyle and all the others who’ve written to him. Mr. Doyle tries to run away, and Betty appears, trying to get the men to stop. Realizing that Betty has blocked his exit, Mr. Doyle tries to get rid of his wrapped gun. The gun explodes, shooting Miss Lonelyhearts. The two men fall down the stairs together.
In the final chapter of the novella, Miss Lonelyhearts has fully succumbed to his madness, believing that he has completely transformed into God. Although Miss Lonelyhearts has gone mad, however, he’s motivated by love and acceptance as he moves to embrace Mr. Doyle, which suggests that even though Miss Lonelyhearts doesn’t uphold Christian ideals in an effective manner, he is legitimately concerned with the well-being of humanity. At the same time, Miss Lonelyhearts’s violent and tragic death at the end of the novella suggests that there’s no place in society for the isolated Miss Lonelyhearts, even if he does feel sympathy and care for others.
Themes
