The theme of fatherhood is developed through Chick’s relationships both with his father and his daughter. Unlike mothers and motherhood, the theme of fatherhood develops as the story progresses and Chick develops as a character, and is thus a true theme.

In the course of the book, Chick’s primary relationship to fatherhood shifts from being a son to being a father. At the beginning of the story, he idolizes his father, and very consciously models his behavior after him, down to his voice and gestures. As he grows older, however, his relationship with his father is increasingly defined by his efforts to earn his father’s approval. From the distance of adulthood, he is conscious of the fact that his father’s distant and often brusque attitude has shaped his expectations for close relationships, but it is not until the end of the book that he realizes the full extent of his father’s influence on him.

When Chick finds out he was not invited to Maria’s wedding, his attitudes about fatherhood begin to shift. He feels he has failed his family, and is hopeless. In order to move forward and heal, he has to examine his assumptions about what it means to be fathered and to be a father.