Faber explores Hyacinth's identity as revolutionary in The Princess Casamassima. The hero loses his mother at an early age when she is imprisoned for murder and dies in jail. This catastrophic loss and its reparation become the focus of Hyacinth's life. His revenge allies itself with a revolution. His more reparative quest becomes associated with his infatuation with a princess, who, Faber posits, becomes the elusive embodiment of the "fantasy mother." She ultimately betrays him by diverting her love to Hyacinth's admired mentor, a leader of the revolution. The hero subsequently commits suicide. Faber suggests that the final traumata are oedipal defeats in their overtones but irrevocable loss of mother in their essence.