Belonging and Abandonment

The tension between belonging and abandonment is a strong theme in the novel which motivates many of the characters’ actions. First, with Truman, the reader sees a constant fear that permeates nearly every aspect of his life—Truman struggles with the abandonment of his mother and strives to find belonging. Truman’s desire for belonging ultimately stems from his mother’s abandonment and this can be seen in his making of multiple Swans a motherly figure in his life. When Truman experiences the fallout from La Côte Basque, it is particularly difficult because it cements his place as an outsider to high society. He stares delicately at his address book—his “constellation of contacts—which symbolize what was once his sense of belonging (243). Though he still may maintain the appearance of a famous literary figure, he has been excommunicated from the group that...