Sexual Exploration
One of the main themes of the novel is sexual exploration, and this is also one of the reasons for the very bad reaction to it within the government and the church at the time. Both Kate and Baba have been raised in a very insular environment; they have felt imprisoned by this in many ways and are excited to get out into the world on their own, where they are not micro managed and supervised and are able to explore their own sexuality and meet a variety of men. Baba, in particular, enjoys dating and sleeping with a variety of partners; Kate is more romantic but veers from the teachings of her church when she gets involved with a married man and longs for him to divorce his wife. The fact that both girls are enjoying their footloose and fancy free existence shows that there is nothing wrong with a young woman enjoying sex and meeting as many new people as she likes, another negative against it as far as the authorities were concerned.
Religious Differences
Having been educated at a convent school, Kate, although anxious to shake off the repressive nature of her upbringing, is still nonetheless a devoted and devout Catholic. She finds that this is very important in her relationships and the fact that Eugene does not share her beliefs is a huge obstacle in their relationship, because Kate is not able to comprehend a relationship with someone who does not share her faith. Baba, on the other hand, does not really go into matters of religion and faith with her male friends, preferring to have fun rather than seek a partner that will be with her for life.
The book also deals with the conflicting opinions of the church and of the young women in question when it comes to women's empowerment in general and sexual freedom in particular. The church does not feel that women should be empowered or enjoy sexual freedoms and this is something that causes many young women to turn away from the church they were raised within. It also causes social divisions between the genders and between the generations.
Women's Empowerment
There is more to women's empowerment than the ability to sleep with whomever one should choose. Rather than settling down, starting a family and staying at home to raise children, both Kate and Baba want to get out on their own, explore the world, meet new people and experience a life that has previously not been available to them. To do this they find that they need to leave Ireland all together because society there does not allow for this and there are literally no opportunities for them to strike out on their own and live life according to the beat of their own drums
The girls are also shown in an entirely positive light in the novels, which in turn enables the author to show that women are able to be independent, sexually liberated and headstrong in the same way that men are; unfortunately the gender-based double standard that saw the book banned suggests that this is not a particularly popular proposition in many countries of the world.
