Waiting to Exhale | Themes

Waiting to Exhale Themes

Savannah, Bernadine, Robin, and Gloria are on quests for self-realization. Each believes at the outset that fulfillment is to be found in a lasting relationship with a man. The women cannot understand why they have been unable to achieve this goal. As they agree in a serious moment during a fun-filled party among themselves, they are "good catches." They are good-hearted and nice, youthful in manner, and attractive. Even overweight Gloria is "pretty." Yet "meeting Mr. Wonderful" eludes them all, a problem they see exacerbated by time.

Savannah worries that she is "thirty-six years old and still childless and single." Bernadine realizes that divorce is making her a single mother at that age: "Who's gonna want me?" Robin, thirtyfive, looks into mirrors for "new flaws," trying to forgive herself "for not looking twenty-four anymore."

Coping with the aging process is a universal theme, and it is...
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