Themes and message

The main themes of the short story “Lost Boys” by Deborah Moggach are parenthood and femininity versus masculinity. The author explores both responsible and irresponsible parenting and enhances the story’s message with motifs like class, marriage, and the life of the artist.

The message of the author is that the life of the artist is often incompatible with parenthood; and that women and men have different perspectives on life, parenthood, and relationships.

Parenthood

The theme of parenthood is explored through most of the characters in the short story, as well as through the plot.

First, the author illustrates two different models of parenthood. The narrator had a traditional upbringing in a middle-class family, while her husband had an unconventional upbringing by his artist mother. The focus is on Ewan’s upbringing and Lily’s parental neglect. Because his mother was an artist, Ewan did not grow up in a stable family environment. His mother had various partners, travelled with Ewan, and often neglected him. Two episodes from Ewan’s childhood come across as relevant for parental neglect. One time, his mother forget about him because she was absorbed in making a painting, and he almost drowned.

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Femininity versus masculinity

At a deeper, more subtle level, the story explores a feminist approach to gender roles, on femininity and masculinity. This is first indicated by the conflicting views that the narrator and her husband have on Lily.

Ewan, who felt neglected and unloved as a child, would have liked for Lily to be more like a traditional mother (caring, nurturing, etc.) Furthermore, when the narrator becomes a mother herself he praises her for being a wonderful mother, but has no idea about the struggles she is going through or that she also needs to feel like a woman in her own right: “Ewan thought I was a wonderful mother but then he didn’t know what domesticity was like, he only came home to it. Arms full of damp Babygros, sometimes I felt like screaming.” (p. 36, ll. 8-11); “Mentally I added up the weeks—yes weeks—since we had made love. And then how had it been? Functional, courteous. Dull.” (p. 36, ll. 17-19)

This illustrates traditional masculine attitudes, who see women either as wives or mothers, and who do not truly understand their needs. Another typical masculine attitude is illustrated in connection with Ewan and his son Alex,...

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