Nobody's Boy

Author: Hector Malot

Starting with the title, this novel makes family a value in itself, and the search for a mother part of the search for self. It follows a path contrary to the usual path of maturation, which begins within the family and ends with separation from it and cutting the umbilical cord as proof of personal maturity. Remy's path begins with separation and ends with family reunion, and between the two moments is a series of successive and simultaneous trials in which the recovery of the lost family paradise is the culmination of the initiatory path. These trials, like the first moment of separation, are essentially based on loss. It is as if the author wants to say that the building of the self and emotional and psychological maturity are only achieved by learning loss.