What are the motifs in My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki?

Fighting for one's independence is a recurring idea. Akiko Ueno is a typical Japanese housewife. Akiko is subservient to her husband, living her life according to what he wants and what he tells her to do. In fact, Akiko married her husband simply because her boss pushed her into it, making it clear that marriage is the best a woman like Akiko can hope for. Akiko is unhappy in the marriage however. Akiko loses a great deal of weight in the early years of her marriage because it is the only thing she can control. This causes Akiko to be unable to become pregnant, making her husband even angrier with her.