The Orphan's Tale

The recurring motif of lost, stolen, and rescued children underlies the themes of personal sacrifice and the formation of found families. The motif is first introduced by Noa’s own presentation as a lost child rejected by her parents and struggling to survive. This is compounded by her dual status as a grieving mother following the loss of her newborn, an experience that fuels her defining act of courage. When she discovers the boxcar of abandoned infants, her maternal grief compels her to act impulsively to save a stranger’s child. Her decision to “pick up the crying child, needing to silence it” (20) is not a calculated act of rebellion but an intimate, instinctual sacrifice that becomes a catalyst for subsequent events. Theo, a Jewish child stolen from his parents, becomes the living embodiment of this motif. His vulnerability unites Noa and Astrid, two broken women who find purpose and redemption in protecting him. By becoming his adoptive mothers, they forge a powerful, non-traditional family bond. The narrative also presents Astrid’s baby as a lost and found child, as she believes herself to have lost the pregnancy: Petra survives and becomes her “miracle” baby. This motif argues that in a world determined to destroy innocence, the most profound form of resistance is the fierce, selfless protection of a child, reframing heroism as an act of radical maternal love.