Themes?

Themes are incredibally important in writing. They are what holds a story together, just as they hold our lives together. I think everyone has at least one theme in their life. Whether its to succeed, or their need for money or love, all are themes that we incorporate in our lives. When a story doesn't have a theme, or a purpose, they lose their realism to most readers. They seem to be empty, and ever flowing, without a definite end. As humans I think we need to know and see that definite end in order to be comfortable with something. Our lives have a definite end eventually, and because of that we can be comfortable with the idea of one day passing on. We don't want to pass on of course, but we know its a reality, not just some flighty possibility. In a novel, when a writer places themes in their story, it gives it depth, and personality. You can see the writer's opinions, and ideas through them, and can become more engrossed in their characters and story. Without a meaning, or theme, we get bored, or lost.
When a theme is introduced into a story, the reader sees it. Whether its subconsciously as they turn the pages, oblivious to the writer's opinions sneaking in from between the lines; or consciously, as the reader searches for the meaning, and knowingly finds and absorbs it- there is a theme. This idea of the writers is what holds the novel together and presses the story foreward, spelling out the guidlines to the plot and purpose.
I guess i'm just rambling right now, but yeah. Themes are beyond important, and are one of my favorite things to find in novels.