Content Warning: This section includes references of child abuse, incest, domestic violence, sexual assault, and cannibalism.

“Jude could never bear to see his reflection, not even in the clear, icy stream that ran through the valley or in the lake where he went to bathe a few times a year. He also believed that Marek ought not see himself.”

The early pages of Lapvona establish the characters’ fundamental beliefs. Both Marek and Jude live simple lives, and Jude believes neither of them should see themselves. He implies that this is a sign of piety, warning Marek of the dangers of beauty and vanity, but it seems in reality to speak to an excessive preoccupation with appearance—specifically, with Marek’s “ugliness.” The passage (and the hypocrisy undergirding it) thematically establishes the lack of self-awareness that both Jude and Marek display, which feeds into their misery and unhappiness.

“He’d get sweaty, grunting, moving the whip across one shoulder, then the other, wincing and breathing so hard that spit drooled from his mouth, and then he sucked it in and spat it out violently, as though it pleased him, as though the pain felt good.”

Both Jude and Marek practice self-flagellation as a religious observance; since they do not attend church, it is the primary method with which they engage in spirituality. This self-flagellation stems from equating pain with holiness, establishing the theme of Suffering As Salvation. Both characters view their trials as divine, rather than stemming from their own actions or societal failures.

“Marek’s step was outward turning, like a duck’s, and if he didn’t concentrate, the line he’d walk would veer to the right, such was the turning of his body against nature.”

Perhaps due to his incestuous conception or Agata’s abortion attempts, Marek is born with physical differences that impact the way he moves through the world. This description of Marek’s body paints him as someone who is at odds with nature itself.