Marty is the love story of Marty and Clara, but that's not the only love in evidence here. Remember, we've got parental love, the bonds of friendship—in many ways this story could be about love as a means of self-acceptance and self-realization.
Marty believes in Clara and urges her to take the department head job in Port Chester because he believes that's what she really wants. In turn, Clara thinks Marty should buy the butcher shop because she believes that he's good at what he does.
Questions about Love
- Besides Clara and Marty, how do characters demonstrate their love to one another?
- Most of what we see of young, married Virginia and Tommy are arguments. What's the evidence that they want to be with one another anyway, and what is the film saying about love and domesticity as a result?
- How does Marty refer to his old man, and what does that say about the loving bond between father and son?
Chew on This
Because Clara and Marty are considered unattractive by standard beauty norms, it allows them to have a deeper romantic bond.
Marty appears to be saying that "I love you" isn't forever, since none of the romantic relationships in the movie seem to stay very romantic in the long term.