Academic Gordon Thomas discusses a theme of a relationship in which one person's identity is absorbed into another's. Thomas wrote, "the von Merkens et al. are manifestations of Johan's own self-loathing, and Alma, because she loves him, must be present at her husband's phantasmagorical inquisition". Critic Robin Wood compares "Hour of the Wolf" to "Persona" in how Alma becomes able to see Johan's "inner horrors", while in "Persona" Alma is affected by Elisabet's views. While recognizing insanity as a major theme, writer José Teodoro argues another (shared with Bergman's later "Shame" and "The Passion of Anna") is "the realization that it is impossible for any one person to truly know another", with Alma realizing she never understood her husband. Authors have related the story's couple to Bergman's real-life relationships: Thomas theorizes that during production Ullmann was "'at peace' with the world, while her genius boyfriend was not". Young notes Bergman had abandoned his wife Käbi Laretei and son Daniel for Ullmann, yet "Hour of the Wolf" is dedicated to Laretei, suggesting the story of the disintegrating artist was meant to explain to Laretei why he left them.