In The Elegance of the Hedgehog, the two main characters, Renée and Paloma, reject human society and enclose themselves into their minds. They do this in part as a defense mechanism against society’s negative influences. While this serves them well in some ways, ultimately they learn that turning away from society means turning away from people who can brighten their lives and make their existences more meaningful. Thus, despite the novel’s emphasis on philosophical introspection, a major theme of the novel is the importance of human connection.

Paloma is annoyed by the people in her life. Her sister is superficially interested in philosophy, her mother is consumed by her own self-importance, and her father is a construct of a man. Paloma sees the lives of her family members as carefully curated farces. She sees through their veneer of wealth and sophistication and observes how they don’t live authentic lives. For the majority of the book, this annoyance inspires Paloma to consider suicide because she refuses to live in the fallacy-driven world of her family. However, after much contemplation and meeting Kakuro and Renée, Paloma starts to see her family in a new light. Rather than blame them for contributing to society’s ills, Paloma recognizes that her true fear of living is that she can’t help her family.