Parenthood

The predominant theme of "A Tiny Feast" is the state of parenthood and what it means to love a child unconditionally. The story develops this theme through the characters of Oberon and Titania, who are not the boy's actual parents but instead king and queen of the fairies who steal the boy from his mortal mother. Titania's trajectory from indifference toward the boy to maternal figure is especially significant, as it shows how she becomes a mother despite her initial unwillingness to see the boy as a son. Upon remembering when Oberon first brought the boy to her, the narrator says: "She draped her hand over its shoulder, and when it did not quiet she rolled it closer to her. It stopped moaning only when she held it in her arms, and put her nose in its hair, and breathed in its scent—poppies and milk...