The main characters—Val, Lady, and Carol—are portrayed as solitary and disconnected figures. They struggle to fit into their environment, express their true emotions and desires, and find themselves feeling alienated. Their distinct identities are stifled in a harsh world that constantly undermines human dreams. Val captures this sentiment when he tells Lady, "Nobody ever gets to know no body! We're all of us sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life!" Val, a free-spirited artist, is fated to be misunderstood and isolated within a constricting and oppressive society. Lady is trapped in a loveless marriage, where her passionate nature finds no outlet except through hatred and resentment over past wrongs. She echoes the theme of solitude when recalling her dying aunt. As a child, Lady asked her aunt what it felt like to die, and her aunt replied, "It's a lonely feeling." Val recognizes that Lady allows him to stay at the store because she is lonely and yearns for companionship. Her deep loneliness and desire to overcome it become clear at the end of Act 2, when she asserts that she needs Val and will follow him wherever he goes.

The third character, Carol, tries to fight her loneliness through attention-seeking behavior. This is a desperate attempt to connect with others, feel important to someone, and draw attention. In an emotional conversation with Val, she confesses that she uses sex for the same purpose. Despite the physical pain she experiences during lovemaking, she endures it because "to be not alone, even for a few moments, is worth the pain and the danger."

In the realm of the play, people's attempts to form deep and meaningful connections, to overcome their isolation, are doomed to fail. Their brief moments of happiness are swiftly snuffed out. Val is correct: loneliness is the fundamental condition of humanity.

Throughout the play, a vivid contrast is established between the open expression of sexuality, portrayed as a positive and life-giving force, and the restrictive, puritanical mindset that prevails in the small town. The townsfolk are suspicious of anyone who does not adhere to their narrow values.
Val is depicted as a highly sexual character. Women are irresistibly drawn to him, much like bees to honey. His physical allure makes him a focal point for the suppressed desires of Lady and Carol. For example, after starting a sexual relationship with Val, Lady, who was previously filled with physical and emotional tension, experiences a rejuvenation and enters a vibrant, life-affirming state. This change is particularly emphasized when she discovers she is pregnant and exclaims, "I have life in my body, this dead tree, my body, has burst into flower!" Before this, Lady often complained of feeling cold, symbolizing her internal emotional numbness. In contrast, Val is always warm—he even claims his body temperature is consistently two degrees higher than normal. It's as if Val passes his warmth to Lady, allowing her to blossom.

Val's erotic energy is also evident in his interactions with the sexually frustrated artist, Vee. He understands the essence of her visions and creativity, and when he touches her hands, she shudders with excitement. He tells her she began to paint as if God had touched her fingers—just as he is doing at that moment—suggesting that his empathy and eroticism elevate him to a divine level. This impression is reinforced later, in act 3, scene 2, when Vee struggles to express her vision of the risen Christ: "His hand!—Invisible!— I didn't see his hand!—But it touched me—here!" At that moment, she takes Val's hand and presses it to her chest. As with...