The Goldfinch

Colored objects figure heavily in The Goldfinch. They act as objects of fate, pointing Theo toward the next step on his path. For example, when Theo and Audrey are walking into the Met, he remembers a “candy-striped umbrella” (18). It is as if this bright umbrella is a flare indicating significant action that will happen soon. When Welty tells Theo to go to Hobart and Blackwell, he instructs him to ring the green bell. Here, the green bell ushers Theo into his next stage of life with Hobie. The painting itself is a significant colored object that travels through the entire novel. Its golden hue gives Theo a sense of calm and purpose, always brightening whatever location he is in.

Colored objects also surround significant people. Tartt devotes many descriptions to Pippa’s hair. In fact, it one of the first things Theo notices about her in the museum. He describes it as being “brighter than everything else in the room” (380). She is glowing, attracting him. The redness of her hair correlates to the intensity of the love and obsession Theo holds for her. He continues to fixate on her hair in later years: “Like a stalker, I hoarded a snippet of autumn-leaf hair I’d retrieved from the trash after she’d trimmed her bangs in the bathroom” (463). Colored objects also surround Audrey. She has a pair of emerald-green earrings that Theo associates with her. At first, Xandra steals them, but Theo recovers them. He gives them to Kitsey in an attempt to create a connection between Audrey’s significance in his life and Kitsey’s. However, they earring do not suit Kitsey, implying that she is not a good match for Theo. Finally, when Theo is considering suicide, he has a memory of “[a] tangerine party dress of my mothers with shiny things on the skirt I always wanted to touch” (717). Here, his mother’s bright dress is a sharp reminder of her significance in his life.