Think back on the story as a whole. What do you think is the major theme and why?

The major theme of the story seems to be love. Throughout the story, Félicité has loved many people and it seems like her life has been punctuated by her loves for all these people. Her love for everyone sustains her and she always needs to have an object of her love. When she finally runs out of objects for her love, she turns to a strange interpretation of religion and then she dies. It isn't clear whether Flaubert means to praise love as the ultimate virtue or paint a sad portrait of love's failure.