What is the theme in Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong?

Coming of age is a major theme in this story. In this story Hang grows from a young obedient girl of eight to a young woman of 20. Examples of the women around her—her mother and her aunt—demonstrate a life that women live to honor their dead. By the end of the novel, she realizes that this path will not bring her happiness and takes the risk to leave behind her familial duties in pursuit of her own happiness.