Comment on theme

Even though Filth cannot confront the memory of Wales fully until late in his life, the attempted murder of his foster mother in Wales both shapes Filth’s life and becomes a lens through which he sees the world. Gardam uses both this event and the experiences of Filth’s professional life to argue that there is darkness and need for vengeance inherent in human nature; however, she also argues that we can and must subvert this at both a personal and societal level.