What is the theme in Life in the Iron Mills, and Other Stories by Rebecca Harding Davis?

Poverty is a theme in this book. "Life in the Iron Mills" is about a young man who is amazingly talented. This young man can create a sculpture out of scrap metal that speaks to the person looking at it, telling a story that no one can truly appreciate unless they have lived the emotion it represents. This young man, Hugh, knows he is talented, but because of his place in society, he does not have the opportunities he needs to market his talent. Hugh has to work for a living in order to support himself, his father, and a young girl who lives with them. Hugh works hard at the iron mills, spending more time at the fires in the mill than with his family, but only making enough money to provide a damp, moldy room in a small boarding house and potatoes for their every meal.