Summary
Theo meets Hobie at Hobart and Blackwell and introduces himself. Hobie invites him into the apartment above the shop. The apartment seems to carry the weight of Blackwell's death, and among the beautiful antiques are dirty dishes and wilting flowers. They talk about the explosion, and Theo reveals that Blackwell was still alive when they spoke, even though Hobie was told that Blackwell died instantly. Theo asks about Pippa, and learns that she is still alive, even though she suffered a skull fracture after the explosion.
Hobie and Theo eat together and Hobie starts asking Theo about his interests. He remembers how his father would make fun of him for liking Edgar Allen Poe, and though he wasn't always bad, he would often come to Theo's school drunk and would get into bar fights or go on vacations without telling Theo or his mother. The Barbours and Theo are written into a Times article about children affected by the museum bombing, and Mrs. Barbour has erroneously told the papers that Theo saved Andy from bullying. While they are talking, Andy texts Theo, disrupting his conversation with Hobie.
Theo asks to see Pippa, and Hobie lets him visit her. She remembers Theo, but is still weak and recovering from the bombing. Theo holds her hand, and they sit together for a moment before Theo has to leave. On his way out, Hobie tells Theo that he can visit any time.
Theo's appetite returns, and he starts regaining weight. Several adults start to notice that Theo's mood is better, but he is still struggling emotionally, even though seeing Pippa and meeting with Hobie improves his well-being significantly. Andy continues to cover for Theo as he visits Hobie and Pippa.
On his second visit to Hobie's apartment, he learns that Pippa is leaving for Texas to live with her aunt. He pleads with her not to go, but her aunt is already packing her things. Theo goes to Pippa's room, and they listen to Palestrina together. They bond over losing their parents, since Pippa's mother died a few months ago of cancer. When Theo asks her to stay, she kisses him and tells him she doesn't want to go, but can't stay.
Sitting on her bed after the kiss, he feels dazed, and has an after-taste of what he thinks is a morphine lollipop. After she leaves, Theo goes back into a depression, and starts to worry that he will have to move in with his grandparents. He also isn't certain whether he'll spend the summer in Maine with the Barbours or be sent to live with his grandparents.
Theo starts visiting Hobie's shop more frequently, and learns that Pippa is unhappy in Texas. He starts helping around the shop, and visits Hobie two or three times a week after school. Mrs. Barbour begins to suspect that Theo isn't going to the library, so Theo tells her he is working for Hobie. But, her questioning makes him think about the painting again, and since he cannot return it, he isn't sure what he should do about it.
The Barbours invite Theo to come to Maine with them for the summer, and Theo learns from a newspaper article that The Goldfinch is presumed destroyed, so he stops worrying about the painting and starts preparing for the trip. Hobie shows Theo how to repair antiques, and reveals how Welty—his former business partner, the man that Theo spoke to at the museum—rescued him from an abusive father and hired him at the antique shop. Theo also learns that the Barbours want to adopt him.
Unexpectedly, Theo's father and his girlfriend Xandra come to get Theo. Theo's father asks for a key to the apartment, so he can sort through it, and Theo remembers how his father was barred from entering the apartment after he stole Audrey's earrings. Not wanting Xandra and his father to go to the apartment alone because of the painting, he goes with them and asks a doorman for help. Theo discreetly brings the painting down and leaves it in storage to pick up later, and learns that his father is being sought out by men he owes money to.
Theo goes out with his father and Xandra, and he returns to the Barbour's house drunk. The Barbours are concerned about Theo living with his father, but can't stop him from moving to Las Vegas. Theo's father starts to dismantle the old apartment, and sells everything within the week. Theo has a final dinner with Hobie before he has to leave for Vegas.
Analysis
After several weeks of impersonal and alienating conversations with adults and peers, Theo is finally able to open up with Hobie. Hobie genuinely cares about Theo's interests and hobbies, and gets to know Theo. Hobie quickly becomes a father figure and a supportive member of Theo's life, and his empathy directly contrasts with the shallow sympathy of others.
The ring ties Theo to Hobie and Pippa, and symbolizes the traumatic experience that binds them. By giving up the ring, Theo is able to meet Hobie and to see Pippa again, and he exchanges a material possession for the care and love he receives.
Throughout the novel, Pippa becomes Theo's love and obsession. When he sees her again, she is mostly incapacitated, and as he continues to see her, he bonds with her in her fragile state. Pippa soothes Theo, and as he spends more time with her, his appetite improves and he starts to feel better. In her wounded state, Theo is able to project onto her, and he develops a strong attachment to her. Since she was present at the accident, and her parents are also dead, he recognizes their similarities and is comforted by them. But because Pippa has to leave for Texas, Theo starts to lose this solace, and begins a cycle of highs and lows directly attached to his meetings with Pippa.
Theo wants to find a home, and live in a place that is comfortable and hospitable, so he tries to ensure that the Barbours will want to adopt him. He attempts to do everything he can to help the Barbours, but quickly realizes that there are few ways he can help them. He is forced to realize that he can never fully recreate his family, though he can try to. When the Barbours agree to take Theo in, he is finally granted some respite, and begins to decompress after a period of extreme anxiety.
When Theo's father returns, Theo is forced to remember his traumatic past with his father and to transport the painting to Las Vegas. He can no longer keep it in his apartment, and his home is now only a place of memory. Because Theo's father despised Theo's mother, his departure happens extremely quickly, so Theo has to let everything but the painting go, and the painting becomes the last item tying him to his mother, the physical and metaphorical burden he cannot get rid of and cannot share with anyone else.
