Faber presents a detailed study of Quentin's dynamics. He finds evidence of early oral trauma with consequent fixation at that level. There is a desperate attachment to the mother which, in spite of displacement to the sister, prevents successful resolution of phallic-oedipal conflicts. Quentin's suicide is multiply determined, at the same time a punishment of and reunion with the mother, an atonement for incestuous impulses, and a flight from homoerotism.