The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge

Brigge's mother is a key figure in the novel; she is the center of his nostalgic examinations of the past. Brigge has no brothers or sisters, and his family lived mostly in isolation. Therefore, his emotional connection with his mother was the most potent in his life. When Brigge was sick as a child—which he often was—his mother comforted him. Since he was sick so often, she spent more time with him than anyone else.

In the context of the memories that Brigge chooses to share, his affinity for his mother is clear. She is the only source of warmth and caring in his life so—given his struggles in with money in Paris—he returns to these memories for comfort during his adulthood. His mother is an important character because she represents a level of emotional care and affection notably absent from other areas of his life. Rather than existing as just a character, Brigge’s mother exists in his mind as the embodiment of an emotional connection to the world that he fears that he has lost.

Brigge does a great deal to try and make his mother happy. As a child, he goes to any lengths to please her, even dressing up as a young girl named Sophie and pretending to be the daughter his mother never had. Brigge enjoys this game, as it makes his mother happy, but Brigge must undermine his own identity in the process and acknowledge that he is not the child his mother wanted. Brigge's mother not only represents the care and love in Brigge's life, but also the dark acknowledgement of an implicit rejection contained within her affection. She may have loved Brigge, but she loved Brigge as Sophie more. This awareness haunts Brigge, reminding him that, in some ways, his entire existence was an imposition on the happiness of the only person who ever truly loved him.

Brigge’s father is a minor character in the narrative but is nevertheless important because he is a foil for other characters and events. The characterization of Brigge’s father as distant and unconcerned about his son's childhood illness highlight’s Brigge’s mother’s devotion. On one occasion, Brigge's sickness forces his parents to return early from a party. While his mother dotes on him, his father stands by and impatiently waits to return to the social event. This event represents the emotional axis that Brigge develops later in life.

Brigge inherited his father’s emotional distance. His father did not like to be touched; neither does he. His disconnectedness from his father made it difficult (if not impossible) for Brigge to connect with other people, especially after his mother’s death. Brigge’s father represents the side of Brigge’s personality that Brigge fears will condemn him to a lonely, miserable life and a lonelier death. Though Brigge is able to find a maternal substitute after his mother passes away, his father’s emotional absence leaves a void that Brigge can never fill.

After Brigge’s mother’s death, his unmarried aunt Abelone emerges to provide an emotional substitute to the grieving young teenager. Brigge's relationship with Abelone is complex. For most of his early life, he hardly thinks about her. She is present in his household but unremarkable, even unpleasant; a fixture at family gatherings of whom he is vaguely aware but with whom he interacts little.

Brigge begins to see Abelone in a new light after his mother’s death. She becomes a target for the love that he lost and a fixation for his changing emotions and budding sexuality. Brigge spends more time with Abelone, reading to her and listening to her read. These interactions are clear echoes of the time he spent with his mother. Once Brigge is sent to boarding school, he begins to send love letters to Abelone. These letters suggest that he is beginning to think of her in a romantic, rather than a purely maternal, context. She is one of the few women in his life and, as he grows into a confused teenager, he lacks any outlet for his romantic feelings.

Abelone reacts to Brigge's attention with understanding. She knows that he has recently lost his mother and she know that he is alone. She views him as a naïve young man who does not know what to do with his feelings. At the same time, Abelone is lonely. She never married and spends most of her time—like Brigge—drifting through empty, haunted Danish castles searching for meaning. The bond between Brigge and Abelone is shared: She appreciates having someone else in the world, even if she does not acknowledge or reciprocate his more romantic overtures. Abelone accepts her role in Brigge's life with a sense of stoicism. She endures his absurd, incestuous allusions so that she can support and help her young nephew. Abelone loves Brigge, as shown by the level to which she understands what he needs and allows herself to be loved by him. Like the prodigal son at the end of the novel, she accepts a burden of being loved so as to help a family member.