Theo is the narrator and protagonist of The Goldfinch. The novel follows him from the time he is 13 until he is in his late twenties. Theo is highly intelligent and sensitive, a keen observer of the world around him. His character also has a certain intensity, and he has the capacity for fixation on people and on objects. He asks, “Was it normal to fixate on strangers in this particular vivid, fevered way?” (28).

From a young age, Theo finds that his life is shaped by the dichotomy of loss and recovery. His mother’s death (by a bomb when they are visiting the Met) is the primary loss, and throughout the rest of the novel, he attempts to fill the void caused by her absence. He notes, “I missed her so much I wanted to die: a hard, physical longing, like a craving for air underwater” (87). He recovers some of this love and support through his relationships with other characters in the novel, significantly through Hobie, the antique shop owner who acts as a sort of replacement parent. Theo notes of him, “I hadn’t felt a touch like that since my mother died—friendly, steadying in the midst of confusing events” (159).