What is the Theme of this Visual Novel? (Bringing literary criticism to DMD - where is our Italian Pre-Doc when you need him?)
Here are some suggestions based on the script so far.
(1) Love conquers fear; (2) Love transcends societal prejudices (Individual v Society); (3) Coming of age; and (4) Family.
(1) Love Conquers Fear: This is an obvious theme. MC Female character is a bundle of fears. Her character arc starting from Chapter 1 and continuing into Chapter 2 is all about conquering her fear through the love and support of MC Male. —— The added plus to this theme is, at the end of Chapter 1 and the beginning of Chapter 2, that MC Male has his own fear issues to overcome. He has spent years in a job under a boss he hates; probably under paid and under appreciated. He has a bed in his apartment that has not seen another woman in it until MCFemale and Jennifer. MCMale’s move from from fear to bravery is based on Love. (Some novels with a Love based theme are “Pride and Prejudice” and “Wuthering Heights”)
(2) Love Transcends Societal Prejudices [Judgement]: This is the theme as tied up with MC/Male/Female and Olivia/Love. Under this theme, a character is judged for being different or doing wrong, whether that be real or just perceived as a wrongdoing by others. Classics here are “To Kill a Mockingbird” - “The Scarlet Letter” - also the movie “Loving”. This theme has been hinted at in dialogue but may or may not be played out more fully - a very interesting possibility.
(3) Coming of Age: With the three younger characters, especially with MCFemale and Jennifer, this is another present theme. Growing up is tough, and how you do it molds your adult self. The protagonist is forced to move from youth to adulthood by circumstances and, in the end, is a transformed character. Some novels are "The Outsiders" and "The Catcher in the Rye" - one of my favorite movies is with James Dean: “Rebel Without a Cause”.
(4) Family (and Community) This has Family trumps Wealth or Greed or some other corrupting issue. Rachel and family have brought this theme into light where MCMale provides what family can be in its myriad of forms (some butting up against societal norms as mentioned above). Novels include “Little Women” - a holiday classic includes - “It’ a Wonderful Life”. We have Rachel who is focused on power or money and family can be sold to gain those things. You have MCMale who has family remade. You have Elena who has a recently deceased (past few years) loss of Mom and how that affects her family. you have Georgina and how her raising her sisters and now starting a relationship with MCMale plays into the family theme.
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Some great themes running in this VN. Take these four themes and keep them running through the VN and you come away with something truly remarkable.