The Goldfinch: Part 5, Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

As Christmas approaches, Theo loses track of time, thanks to his solitude and his illness. He watches local news even though he can’t understand what it says, and also reads the hotel’s copies of Dutch newspapers. At one point while watching TV he saw Larry at 25, in a non-speaking role in a cop show. His only interactions with other people occur when he orders room service, but even this he limits to the early hours of the morning. The sun doesn’t rise until 9am, and sets at 5pm. At one point Theo runs to a store to buy essentials, including cleaning products for the stains that remain on his clothing. He recalls Boris saying they would only be gone for “a little while.”

Theo has come to process Martin’s death as “a social and moral lesson.” Yet he remains tormented by the fact that The Goldfinch is gone. A number of days pass before Theo can even bring himself to open the blackout shade in his room. When he does so, he sees a TV crew filming something about Christmas tourists below, and he closes it quickly again. He won’t even order coffee from room service, because earlier he saw an article in one of the Dutch newspapers with a picture of the parking garage with police tape across it. He pores over the article, but can’t really understand it. Over the next few days, the papers feature more articles, this time accompanied by a photo of Frits. Theo is desperate to see Boris.

After resisting contacting Boris for days, Theo sends him a text saying, “Where are you?” However, soon after his phone dies, and even after borrowing a charger from the front desk he can’t make it work again. Theo tells himself he could take a cab to the airport and pay for a flight home with his credit card. He thinks about Mrs. Barbour’s assistant, who would be able to do something like get a flight on Christmas Eve at the last minute, and feels comforted. While Theo doesn’t want to leave Amsterdam without knowing that Boris is alright, he is also desperate to get back to the US. However, just as he is imagining the relief of arriving home, he remembers that he left his passport in the glovebox of Gyuri’s car.

Theo recalls that there is no border control within the European Union, and reasons that he could get the train to somewhere like Paris and apply for a new passport at the American consulate there. The next day, Christmas Eve, he forces himself to eat a huge breakfast, then throws away all the newspapers from the past few days. Leaving the hotel, he throws away the shirt covered in bleach stains, then catches a taxi to the main train station. At the ticket office, he asks to buy a ticket on the latest train to Paris that evening. However, clerk then asks to see his passport, pointing out that he needs it to travel.

Theo tries to persuade the clerk to let him buy the ticket using his New York state ID without success. Using a payphone, Theo calls the American consulate in Amsterdam. Theo says his passport has been stolen, and the woman on the other end of the line notes that he has to file a police report. When he says it is actually probably just lost, she says a police report is still necessary. Theo tries to say that he needs to be in Paris today, but the woman points out that the consulate is only open for another 45 minutes and will then be closed for a few days for Christmas. She adds that even after Theo files a completed application for a new passport, it would still be about ten working days before it arrives.    

Theo’s fever is always at its worst at night, triggering surreal dreams. By the time he gets home from the train station, he is shaking. He mixes himself gin and hot water from the minibar. Despairing, suicidal thoughts rush over him. Theo has tried to kill himself before, using “whatever booze and pills [he] happened to have on hand,” but it has never worked. He considers calling back the American consulate and turning himself in for murder. However, with a sudden burst of resolve he decides to kill himself. Finishing his gin, he opens a bottle of white wine, suddenly feeling calm and happy.

Theo retrieves pieces of hotel stationary in order to write four letters: one each for Hobie, Mrs. Barbour, Kitsey, and Pippa. Writing Kitsey’s letter, Theo is shocked by the formal tone he takes. He tells her that his suicide is not her fault, that his problems started way before they got together. He advises her never to let Havistock Irving into her house, and concludes by saying how beautiful she looked in Audrey’s earrings at their engagement party. In his letter to Hobie, Theo mentions the bad antiques he sold, though he adds that these aren’t the reason why he is killing himself. At this point, his fever is so intense that he is struggling to see properly.

In the letter to Hobie, Theo recalls a time when he and Audrey rescued a sick puppy who, despite their efforts, ended up dying. However, having poured out his thoughts with so much conviction, Theo suddenly pulls back and realizes that what he’s written is messy and incoherent. Feeling awful, Theo takes some aspirin. He recalls hearing that only 2% of suicides by overdose are successful, and then thinks about famous suicide notes—ones that are succinct, poignant, even funny. Theo doesn’t want to look too “seedy” when his body is found, so he decides to shower and put on his suit. However, he is then suddenly overcome with a wave of nausea, and violently throws up into the wastepaper basket. After this he passes out. 

Ever since Audrey’s death, Theo has repeatedly dreamed that he briefly sees her in a crowd, or that she’s living across town and that he has failed to call her. In the dreams he is always desperately trying to get to her, but unable to do so. However, on this night Theo finally “find[s] her.” In the dream, Theo is in a bigger and more “eternal-seeming version” of Hobie’s shop. Audrey is there, though Theo can only see her through the reflection of a mirror, and somehow knows he cannot turn around to look at her directly. Despite this, her presence feels very real. She is smiling, as if she knows a wonderful secret. Just as she starts to speak, Theo wakes up.

It is morning, and Theo is lying under the bedcovers with all the lights on. He still feels Audrey’s presence all around him. Having momentarily forgotten that it was Christmas Day, Theo walks over to the window and gazes outside. He has resolved to tell the Dutch police everything he knows, not only about Martin’s death but also Sacha, Horst, and The Goldfinch. He is determined not to be like Larry, “dodging an scheming up until the very [last] moment.” He flushes the heroin Boris gave him down the toilet. Theo sees the suicide notes he wrote last night and cringes. However, he also realizes that he will need to write Hobie a letter explaining things to do with the business. 

Theo then decides that he might as well admit to the antiques fraud he committed as well. He then thinks of Pippa and Mrs. Barbour. When Pippa left New York after her first visit with Everett, Theo had attempted suicide and left her a note that simply read, “Leaving for a while.” However, after the attempt Theo woke up in a pool of vomit. He leaves his hotel room, and notices a little bag of candies hanging from the doorknob with the words, “Merry Christmas!” He suddenly feels very hungry, and thinks about the convention of condemned men having their last meals. Going back into his room, he orders the “Festive Champagne Breakfast” from room service.  

Just after Theo’s breakfast arrives, he gets a call from the front desk saying that someone is coming up to see him in his room. The receptionist apologizes, saying they tried to stop him but couldn’t. Theo opens the door of his room to reveal Boris, “Rumpled, red-eyed, battered-looking.” Boris observes that Theo looks unwell, and asks why he hasn’t been answering his calls. Helping himself to some of Theo’s breakfast, Boris complains that he’s been driving all night. He observes that Theo, meanwhile, seems to have been “Living it up.” Theo tries to hand Boris Gyuri’s watch and ring, but Boris says that Theo can return them to Gyuri himself.

Boris suggests that they order more champagne and coffee and invite Gyuri to join them. Theo tries to tell him that a lot has happened to him, but Boris replies, “What has happened to me is at least five thousand times more.” Boris’ phone rings, and while he answers it, speaking in Ukrainian, Theo walks to the door. Boris hangs up and tells Theo that he is acting like a “zombie.” Boris tells a story about when he came to Amsterdam as a teenager and couldn’t handle the strength of the weed, leading him to vomit in the Van Gough museum. He gives a Christmas toast, then enthusiastically starts eating.

Boris says that he and Gyuri have been in Frankfurt, and Theo asks if he has his passport, which Boris says he does. When Theo refuses to join in with his toasts, Boris accuses him of having “no sense of gratitude or beauty.” Boris tries to reminisce about the Christmas they spent with Larry and Xandra in Las Vegas, but Theo does not respond. Boris gestures toward the bag lying by his feet, telling Theo to open it. Theo picks it up and heads for the door. On Boris’ insistence, Theo opens the bag, and finds stacks of $100 bills. Boris says that this is only a “fraction of.” He says that Theo has a lot more money coming.

Theo tells Boris he doesn’t want the money. He shouts that he doesn’t care about the money, and only wants the painting. Furiously, he tells Boris that he doesn’t want to even look at him. Boris replies that if Theo tried to hand himself in to the police for killing Martin, the police would give him a “medal,” because Martin was an evil man. Boris explains that the cash is the reward money for the safe return of The Goldfinch. In fact, the money didn’t even come from returning the picture, only providing information that could lead to its recovery. Boris says a SWAT team was dispatched to retrieve the painting, and that he wishes he could have witnessed the rescue operation happen.

Boris explains that he suspected The Goldfinch was being held in an apartment belonging to an old girlfriend of Sacha’s in Frankfurt. He couldn’t remember the address, so he had to go the city himself and find it by memory. Once Boris found it, he had his associate’s son Anton, a fluent Dutch speaker, phone the police and provide the tip, making up a story that he had heard two drunk Germans arguing at the bar where he worked. According to this story, the Germans left behind a folder linking Sacha’s name and address to the painting—a folder that Boris and his crew had actually drawn up themselves. Boris explains that Sacha is now in jail.

Boris explains that The Goldfinch wasn’t the only stolen artwork at Sacha’s apartment. There were many others there, all with their own rewards attached. Boris hopes that Theo can forgive him, because it is said to be “one of great art recoveries of history.” Added together, the reward money came to so much that Boris was able to give generous cuts to the various people involved in the whole scheme. Theo asks about the other artworks that were recovered, but Boris impatiently notes that he doesn’t see why they are so valuable himself, particularly the contemporary pieces—“Ugly Blob.” “Black Stick with Tangles.” Boris notes that Sacha’s young boyfriend escaped, but that he will likely disappear forever in order to protect himself. 

Boris says he’s still not totally sure how Horst fits into all this, and that he doesn’t trust Horst as much as before. He is still amazed by the fact that all this time, legitimate reward money from the government had been lying right in front of him. Anton is getting a lot of media attention and praise for his role in the recovery, but Boris says that this praise is really for Theo. Theo tries to give Boris half of the money, but Boris assures him that he’s already set himself up. Boris recalls when Larry gave him $500, and how much that meant to him. Becoming tearful, he laments that Theo was always so generous with him, sharing everything he had, and Boris repaid him by stealing his most treasured possession.

Boris observes that Theo always had a rather black-and-white view of morality, but that this is actually not how the world truly is. Boris points out that good deeds can have bad outcomes, while bad deeds can have good outcomes, and that it is impossible to know what the ultimate consequences of one’s actions will be. Boris has come to believe that “As long as I am acting out of love, I feel I am doing the best I know how.” Boris reiterates that if Theo had never stolen The Goldfinch, the other recovered artworks would still be underground, hidden from view. Theo says he thinks that this is simply an example of “irony” rather than some kind of redemptive fate. Boris suggests that the truth is that it is in fact both. 

Boris asks why Theo is in such a big hurry, and invites him to Antwerp to hang out with his friends before he returns to the US. When Theo asks Boris to take him to the airport, Boris replies that he doesn’t think Theo will be allowed on the plane, because he looks like he has “bird flu or SARS.” He is happy to see that Theo is already packed, and advises him to throw his coat into the canal. However, he then thinks it’s perhaps better not to do this in “broad daylight,” and suggests they dump it in Antwerp instead. 

Two days later, Theo flies home from Antwerp. When he gets back to the shop, Hobie greets him coldly. When Theo asks what’s wrong, Hobie tells him it was “inappropriate” to give Pippa the topaz necklace. He then says that two days before Christmas, Lucius Reeve came to the shop. Exasperated, Hobie says he now knows that Theo lied to him about the full extent of the scheme he was running, and about why Reeve was bothering them. Theo concedes that what he did was deeply wrong, but adds that he now has the money to make it right. Hobie asks where Theo had been, and then admits that he presumed Theo was never coming back. 

Hobie says that he and Pippa were terrified when Theo suddenly disappeared from his engagement party. Things only got worse when Reeve showed up and told them about Theo stealing The Goldfinch. Hobie is horrified, and asks Theo to tell him if he really stole it. Theo asks him to sit down, explaining that it’s a long story, but that he’ll try to make it as concise as possible. Theo tells him everything, only leaving out the deaths of Martin and Frits. When he finally finishes the story, Hobie comments, “It does all swing around strangely sometimes, doesn’t it?” Theo offers to write Hobie a check to cover all the bad furniture he sold and then leave for good.

Refusing this offer, Hobie retrieves a photo album, and shows Theo a photo of Welty as a child, standing in front of two reproductions: one a Manet painting, the other The Goldfinch. Hobie explains that Welty took Pippa to the Met especially to see The Goldfinch. Hobie asks how Theo stored the painting, and Hobie is horrified, particularly when he hears that Theo put the painting in his checked luggage when he flew to Las Vegas. Hobie tells Theo that he should have told him and the he would have “figured out something.” At the same time, Hobie recalls how his friends argued that it was too much for him to become Theo’s guardian.

Hobie notes that devoting oneself to objects isn’t the most noble or admirable way of life, although Theo interjects to disagree. Hobie goes on to reflect that people often claim that the value of art lies in its universal appeal, but that he believes art is truly meaningful when it speaks directly and individually to a person, almost like a secret. Hobie then reflects on fate in a way that reminds Theo of Larry. Hobie notes that in this sense, gamblers perhaps understand the world better than anyone. 

Theo is reminded of one of Larry’s catchphrases: “Sometimes you have to lose to win.” A year has passed since he returned from Antwerp, and it is Christmas time again. Theo has spent almost the whole year traveling, buying back the bad antiques he sold, which has required going all over the country and beyond. He feels “almost as if I’ve died […] I feel different, I am different.” He feels convinced that everything that means a lot to him is an “illusion,” but that this doesn’t matter—in fact, this is why he cares about it in the first place. Theo has come to accept that no one gets to choose who they are, despite cultural messages to the contrary.

People are constantly told, “Be yourself,” but this advice could actually end up leading them astray. Theo thinks about Kitsey, whose deepest self leads her astray, but who chooses to overpower this with decisions that she thinks will be better for her. His and Kitsey’s engagement hasn’t “officially” been called off, but neither is it exactly on. He is still treated as a member of the Barbour family. Pippa, meanwhile, took the book Theo gave her but left the necklace, along with a letter thanking him for the gift but saying she couldn’t accept it because it was “too much.” She wrote that she and Theo were too similar, and that their shared trauma meant that they would never work as a couple. 

In Antwerp, Boris told Theo that despite everything—abandoning the engagement party, Everett—Theo could “have” either Kitsey or Pippa if he actually wanted to be with them. In a way, Theo can see that Boris is right. Theo has written this story based on notebooks and letters he started writing from the age of 13. He considers the idea that people are defined by the secrets they keep. If this is true, then The Goldfinch was what allowed him to realize who he truly was. He wonders what Fabritius painted the little bird in the first place. Is the painting a kind of self-portrait, and if so, what does that say about how Fabritius saw himself?

For art historians, the importance of The Goldfinch lies in its technical innovations and unique influence on other artworks. But to Theo, this doesn’t matter. The painting speaks to him in a direct, almost secretive way, just like Hobie observed. Theo has come to realize that the fundamental facts that matter to him are the ones he can’t truly understand or explain. He will never be able to believe that “life is some awesome, rewarding treat.” In reality, life is defined by chaos, suffering, and tragedy. Yet there is also hope to be found in the fact that despite all this, it is somehow possible to experience joy.

When they were in Antwerp, Boris and Theo discussed substance abuse. Boris admitted that he knew he was an alcoholic and that drinking will be what kills him. He told Theo that he started doing heroin when his girlfriend left him and he wanted to be “self-destructive.” When Theo asked why he didn’t try to stop, Boris asked replied, “Why should I?” Theo confesses that he understands Boris’ logic. People can’t choose their desires, just like they can’t choose who they are. 

Through The Goldfinch, Theo learned that “we can speak to each other across time.” Life may be short and filled with suffering, but that doesn’t mean that people have to be its victims. People might even resent having to live, but they have the duty to “immerse” themselves in life regardless. Artworks like The Goldfinch are immortal, and through interacting with them humans get a brief taste of immortality. It is via such interactions that individual people join a community across time of people who “loved beautiful things” and tried to save them from the ravages of time, thereby handing them down to future generations.