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Pragmatism helps people to function but is not sufficient for happiness.

The narrator sees pragmatism and order as essential to a harmonious life, but his change after the elephant’s disappearance shows that these values alone are insufficient for happiness. The narrator has a theory of pragmatism which holds that society is a pragmatic place in which order, balance, and unity make life easier. The narrator appears to derive satisfaction from this sense of unity. Pragmatism is the key for him in understanding the world and his place in it. However, the story of the elephant and its disappearance challenges the narrator’s assumption. The solution that the town arrives at when the zoo closes is to adopt the elephant, house it in its own elephant house, and allow its longtime caretaker to continue caring for it. The narrator presents this as a very pragmatic solution and one that works for all parties. Yet, the elephant does not seem happy. It is content when it is alone with its caretaker, but it otherwise appears lonely and unresponsive. The elephant’s demeanor suggests that the most pragmatic solution may not have been the one that optimizes happiness. 

The editor’s suggestion that there are more important things in a kitchen than the unity derived from pragmatism is another hint that pragmatism is not sufficient for happiness. It helps people to function in their kitchen, and more broadly in society, but the editor suggests there is something intangible that makes a kitchen a nice place to spend time. It is this intangible quality, which remains undefined throughout the story, that the narrator finds missing in his life after the elephant disappears. His pragmatism has helped him to thrive up until this point, but when his faith in that pragmatism is shattered, he is left with nothing else. As a result, the world around him fades and he cannot enjoy his life as he once did. For the narrator, pragmatism has been necessary, but not sufficient, for his happiness.

Unbalanced relationships lead to consequences.

In the story, bonds are forged between beings and there are consequences when those bonds are broken or changed. The most obvious example is the incident with the elephant. The narrator describes a particularly close bond between the elephant and its caretaker. On the night of their disappearance, something about their relationship changes. The narrator’s view is that when the elephant begins shrinking, the “balance” between the two is thrown off. This unbalancing leads to both man and animal disappearing in the night, although exactly how it happens is unclear. At the time the story was written, the attitudes toward zoos were changing. Elephants were especially becoming increasingly endangered. The incident in the story suggests that an imbalanced relationship between human and nature can lead to the extinction, or disappearance, of certain animal species.

The relationship between the narrator and the editor is another way this idea is expressed. The two hit it off quickly and seem to be on the way to forging a bond. They find many similarities between themselves, such as acquaintances, age, and bad eyesight. But by the end, their bond has been thrown off-balance by their discussion of the elephant. Their easy conversation grinds to an awkward halt. Afterward, the editor’s presence diminishes and then effectively vanishes from the narrator’s life. The unbalanced relationship between the narrator and the editor mirrors what happened to the elephant and the keeper, and in both cases this imbalance has led to a shrinking and ultimately a disappearance.

People reject or ignore reality when it is too strange to accept.

The incident of the vanishing elephant creates a difference in the perception of reality between the narrator and the rest of the world. The narrator has seen what really happened, but the elephant’s shrinking size makes no sense and cannot be explained. He watches the townspeople and the authorities go through the usual motions of coming up with theories and conducting a search, but it is clear that none of the theories make sense, and a search party for an animal as enormous and obvious as an elephant is ridiculous.

The authorities nonetheless go through the same process they would for a regular disappearance. However, the narrator cannot unsee the incident he has witnessed, and this effectively places him in a reality all his own. The narrator considers calling the police but decides not to say anything because he knows he will not be believed. When he begins telling the true story to the editor, he regrets his choice almost immediately, feeling his reality will be too strange for the editor to accept. In the end, everyone forgets about the elephant entirely and the story fades from the news. The elephant disappears not only from the elephant house but also from the minds of the people because people would rather ignore a strange and uncomfortable reality than accept it.

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