Where the Heart Is | Themes

Where the Heart Is Themes

Not surprisingly, the most prominent theme revealed in the novel relates to the title. Sister Husband tells Novalee early on that "Home is where your history begins," and the two women eventually make a home together for themselves and Novalee's daughter, Americus. This concept of nontraditional family acts as the central theme of the novel.

Letts encourages readers to see that family means more than blood relations. The biological familial connections shown—with Novalee's Mom and Americus's dad, Willy Jack—fail completely at their roles as responsible and loving family members. The family that Novalee forms consists of Sister Husband and Mr. Sprock, Lexie, Forney Hull, and the Whitecottons. Neighbors like the Ortiz family and Henry and Leona Warner fill out the community as family circle. All these people aid Novalee in ways that a traditional family normally would by providing a home, child care, education, and spiritual fortitude. Forney...
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