Introductionĭonna Tartt’s 2013 novel The Goldfinch is a miraculous exploration of grief and love represented by thirteen-year-old Theodore Decker’s whose subsequent life is violently overturned following the sudden and devastating death of his beloved mother in a New York City museum bombing. I argue that themes of gender and sexuality, trauma, and masking oneself contribute to the tumultuous yet once-in-a-lifetime relationship between Theo and Boris. Reading this novel through a queer/gender studies lens and the use of a dialogic journal reveals that this story is a representation of the tendencies gay-coded characters are portrayed as through the use of specific literary elements and intentional subtext. I argue that one of the most tantalizing aspects found in this piece of literary fiction is the fascinating and sometimes questionable relationship between main characters, Theodore Decker and Boris Pavlikovsky. This story of guilt and loss-intermixed with love and longing-is far detached from the traditional coming-of-age trope. The Goldfinch (2013) by Donna Tartt is a novel that explores the conditions of grief and escalating lengths characters will go to survive the traumas and mysteries of life.
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