The theme of a text is the
way the plot is developed by the author.
topic the author has chosen for the text.
message the text conveys about a topic.
opinion the author has about a subject.

can you share the passage so i can answer the question : )

in my opinion i think it was not excessive at all. the maids turned against the queen in his absence, how could he ever trust them again? if he let them go they would surely spread the news of the suitor's deaths, which is much too risky. as for the suitors, they were selfish, rude, and greedy. the god's had apparently marked them for death, meaning odysseus made their death come faster.