Neil Gaiman's Stardust explores the themes of freedom and confinement, rules, order, and transformation, and although he uses fantasy to do this, his story teaches us much about the human experience. Let's explore this in more depth.

We will begin with an overview of the themes. Freedom and confinement are central to the tale. Think, for instance, of Madame Semele's slave, who is really Lady Una, or of Yvaine being chained to Tristran. These are literal examples of confinement, but other characters are chained more metaphorically like Tristran in his infatuation with Victoria, or the witch-sisters who despise growing old.

The themes of rules and order go well together. The rules of Faerie are quite different from the rules of the “real” world, but they are rules nonetheless, and when the inhabitants of Faerie do not abide by them, there are consequences. We catch a glimpse of those consequences when violence breaks out, shattering the order and peace of Faerie.

Transformation is also central to the story. Yvaine, for instance, cannot cross over into Tristran's world because she will become what stars are in that world, just rock. For Tristran to be with her, he must cross over into Faerie, which he does, and it changes him as well even though he is entering into his true heritage.

As for the human experience, consider how all of these themes are things that we deal with constantly throughout life in one way or another. Meeting them in a story like this one helps us to encounter them in a “safe” way where we can join the characters in discovering their meaning so that we can better understand them in our lives.