From the beginning of the story to the very last chapter we see that Nicholas Barber is searching for a father figure. Unfortunately he is not only extremely religious but also very idealistic, which makes it difficult for him to find someone who can live up to his standards. When we first meet Nicholas, he is running away from his first father figure and into the arms of the second. On page 13 he explains why …showed first 75 words of 1228 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1228 total…but I knew that we can lose ourselves in the parts we play and if this continues too long we will not find our way back again." As a priest he would be stuck in a role that didn't have much in common with his true self, but as a player he can avoid being trapped by taking on different roles and remembering his own identity as Nicholas the player, the idealist and the observer.