"When Theo loses his mother in a museum bombing, the rupture is instant, but the collapse stretches across years. Grief hollows him out and leaves him spiraling without an anchor."
"Theo becomes a collection of survival strategies: the boy who craves connection, the young man who numbs out with drugs, the polished antique dealer performing normalcy, the thief clutching a painting, the criminal fighting for his life."
The Goldfinch illustrates how trauma reshapes human life through the character of Theo Decker. After losing his mother in a bombing, Theo struggles with his identity, becoming a fragmented individual embodying various survival strategies. He grapples with grief, addiction, and his connection to a stolen painting that symbolizes his unresolved pain. By presenting Theo as an archetype of trauma, the narrative reveals the complexities of living with a shattered self and the impact of trauma on one's identity formation and emotional connections.
Read at Psychology Today
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