"The Wife's Lament", even more so than "Wulf and Eadwacer", vividly conflates the theme of mourning over a departed or deceased leader of the people (as may be found in "The Wanderer") with the theme of mourning over a departed or deceased lover (as portrayed in "Wulf and Eadwacer"). The lord of the speaker's people ("min leodfruma, min hlaford") appears in all likelihood also to be her lord in marriage. Given that her lord's kinsmen ("þæt monnes magas") are described as taking measures to separate the speaker from him, a probable interpretation of the speaker's initial circumstances is that she has been entered into an exogamous relationship typical within the Anglo-Saxon heroic tradition, and her marital status has left her isolated among her husband's people, who are hostile to her, whether due to her actions or merely due to political strife beyond her control. Somewhat confusing the account, however, the speaker, longing for her lover, has apparently departed ("Ic me feran geƿat") either to seek out her lord or merely to seek exile, and the relationship, chronologically or causally, between this act and the hostility of her and/or her husband's people is unclear.