What are the motifs in The Tie That Binds: A Novel by Kent Haruf?

While there's no doubt that there was some love in Edith's life, it seems likely that there wasn't enough to make up for all the bad things she endured. John Roscoe loved her and wanted to marry her, but Edith felt that her responsibility for her father outweighed everything and refused to leave that responsibility to anyone else. Years later, Edith found a different kind of love in Sandy, then in Mavis and Rena Pickett. Edith's obvious love for them is seen in her desire to spend a little time on that last day with Mavis and Rena. When she can't imagine how to arrange it, fate arranges it for her and she later tells Sandy how delighted she was for the opportunity to tell one small lie in return for having the chance to share pumpkin pie with Rena and Mavis.