Themes
The relationship between Idgie and Ruth is accepted by the entire town of Whistle Stop. Although it is not explicitly labeled as a lesbian relationship, every resident both knows about and accepts Idgie and Ruth's relationship, making lesbianism a theme in the novel. However, the relationship in the film has been altered. In the film adaptation Ruth had been in love with Buddy Threadgoode. The movie implies that Ruth never got over his death.
The novel also uses Evelyn and Mrs. Threadgoode's characters as a way to examine women's aging.Throughout the novel we see Evelyn going through menopause as well as Mrs. Threadgoode's deterioration due to her old age.
Another important aspect is the history of African American lives from the 1920s to the late 1980s as the novel follows Sipsey's family.
Dying and accepting death is another theme throughout the novel. Buddy, Ruth, her husband Frank and Ninny are just some of the main characters who die in the course of the story in very different ways. The moral justification for Murder and Euthanasia are also touched upon.
Food is another literary theme in the novel to the extent that Flagg included the recipes served by the cafe at the end of the book.
Read more about this topic: Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe
Famous quotes containing the word themes:
“In economics, we borrowed from the Bourbons; in foreign policy, we drew on themes fashioned by the nomad warriors of the Eurasian steppes. In spiritual matters, we emulated the braying intolerance of our archenemies, the Shi’ite fundamentalists.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“I suppose you think that persons who are as old as your father and myself are always thinking about very grave things, but I know that we are meditating the same old themes that we did when we were ten years old, only we go more gravely about it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)