Theme

The main theme of the short story “Blackberries” by Ellen Hunnicutt is isolation. Whether we consider the couple presented in the story as young and old, this theme remains prevalent and defining the relationship between the two. The short story also explores the motif of “carpe diem”, an expression first used by the Roman poet Horace in his Odes.

Isolation

This theme is explored in “Blackberries” through the separation between the two spouses. First, isolation comes into the story when we find out that the husband and the wife are alone in a camping site in the woods, near a village. They are alone and, consequently, isolated from the rest of society. The result is that they have to spend time with each other and listen to each other’s problems whether they like it or not. In a way, isolation is supposed to help them overcome their differences and reconnect.

However, the two spouses are isolated from each other. First sign is their conversation, which seems very strange and disconnected. It is quite clear that each one of them believes that his/her own issues are more important than the other’s and this is why they seem to ignore each other:

“Albert and Mae went to New York,” she said. “It’s a tour. A theater tour.”
“You told me that,...