What is the symbolism of Samuel's mother's locket in the novel, Blood on the River?

Samuel's mother was given a locket by her landlord's son as a token of love when she turned thirteen. After she died, the locket was taken from Samuel and pawned. He steals it back from the pawnshop and is arrested. He would have been hanged for the theft, but a sympathetic magistrate brings him to an orphanage instead. With Rev. Hunt's help, he realizes that he didn't steal the locket because he missed and loved his mother, but rather because he was angry. The locket symbolizes Samuel's love and longing for his dead mother, and is the only valuable thing he has ever owned.