The theme here was a rotten structure
Like the floor the peasant women fell through, the ruthless repression of the pastor to his children, the crowded humorless families, the abusive doctor, the hierarchy & patriarchy - all working to engender rage, revenge, fear, envy, deceit.
What's interesting about this is that it, of course, applied to pre-war Europe & especially Northern Europe, with its stern Germanic character, but it actually applies everywhere those repressive elements are in play - which, to a greater or lesser extent - is, in fact, everywhere.