Moon Tiger | Themes & Symbolism

Moon Tiger Significant Topics

War

Wars have shaped Claudia's life. The decisive event of Claudia's childhood was her father's death in World War I, fighting on the Somme. The loss turns Claudia's mother into a silly, trite caricature of a woman. In part, Claudia's unconventional personality is a reaction to her mother's extreme caution. Thus, both the mother and the daughter are maimed by the husband's loss, in their own ways.

Claudia's father's loss and mother's emotional absence also drive Claudia to a closer relationship with her brother Gordon. Eventually this intimacy blossoms into a narcissistic sexual relationship, when Claudia is in her late teens. Although the two eventually end their affair, they remain unnaturally close throughout their lives. Claudia is never completely able to give herself to a man over an extended period, partly because of this relationship with Gordon.

War shapes Gordon's life as well. Although he loves and admires his sister, he...
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