Pain and loss seemed to be driving forces behind the actions of the novel's characters. However the manifestation of that pain took on many different forms with each character. Some were able to lock in that pain in a place that resulted in a complete transformation of character as in the case of Aster. For Hirut, she was able to transform her incredible reserves of pain into an anger and a defiance that drove her to courageous action on the battlefield.
However, in the novel there was also a loss of self brought on by the untimely death of one's own child (Kidane and Aster) or humiliation (as in the case of Fucelli and Hirut) so that the violence, loss and pain managed to split the afflicted character's self in two, eventually leaving it a shadow of its former self.