Miss Helen knows that the community does not approve of her home or behavior, and they attempt—via her pastor, Marius Byleveld—to coax her into a nursing home. Miss Helen is alienated from her community while she continues to make art. As an artist, she requires a kind of freedom and solitude that society is often unwilling to grant, but her reclusive tendencies combine with negative reactions from her neighbors to isolate her even further. Her artistic expression gives her life purpose despite opposition from those around her; in light of this, her creation of her own spiritual “Mecca” emphasizes the value she places on her individual faith and artistic freedom. Miss Helen’s story speaks to the reality that sometimes the price of freedom from society's rules is alienation from society itself.

The sculpture garden and the statues’ orientation toward Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, juxtapose the Western traditions of Miss Helen’s Christian community with Eastern religion. The variety of sculptures symbolizes Miss Helen’s rejection of local norms, and the unique orientation and subject matter of her constructed environment highlights her individual artistic vision and pursuit of spirituality. 

The relationship between Miss Helen and Elsa sheds light on both of their characters. Elsa, who is much younger than Miss Helen, drives a long way to visit Miss Helen, which shows her care and concern for the reclusive artist. Elsa is clearly protective of Miss Helen, wanting to help the older woman to have the most dignified life she possibly can, but their friendship is human and imperfect—full of irritation along with moments of affection. It's a relationship that makes Elsa seem less serious and more compassionate and loving, just as it makes Miss Helen seem more youthful and eccentric. Despite their differences, or perhaps because of them, the two women seem to improve one another over the course of the play.

Marius brings the retirement home paperwork to be signed by Miss Helen and, in doing so, acts upon the community’s belief that Miss Helen should move into the Sunshine Home for the Aged and give up the freedom she has in her own house. In this case, someone close to Miss Helen, who has known her for a long time, is also a proponent of what she fears—separation from her Mecca and the loss of her freedom of artistic and spiritual expression.

In the end, with her Mecca finished, Miss Helen chooses to die by drinking Valium-laced tea. The real Helen Martins took her own life in a similar way in 1976.