Character Relationship Map: Little Secrets

Characters

• Norbi (played by Ben Hoscheit) — protagonist

  Norbi Welscheid is a twelve-year-old boy whose perspective guides the story. He tries to understand mysteries surrounding his father, his family, and the past, while facing the fears and unanswered qu...

• Father (played by André Jung) — supporting

  Norbi’s father owns a shop selling books, stationery, and religious articles, and keeps a diary in which he regularly notes the letter “P.” Norbi wonders why he monitors Josette so closely and why the...

• Mother (played by Nicole Max) — supporting

  Mother is Norbi’s mother and part of the Welscheid household. The story gives little detail about her actions, but its ending indicates that Father is beginning to lose his authority at home not only...

• Mr. Treines (played by Luc Feit) — supporting

  Mr. Treines is Norbi’s teacher at primary school. He asserts authority by slapping pupils and imposing other punishments, and focuses his attention on those likely to pass the entrance examination for...

• Josette (played by Anouk Wagener) — supporting

  Josette is Norbi’s sister and a member of the Welscheid family. Norbi wonders why their father checks on her so closely, making her a source of one of the family mysteries he tries to understand. At t...

• Religion Teacher (played by Steve Karier) — supporting

  The Religion Teacher leads lessons attended by Norbi and makes frightening claims about baptism, purgatory, heaven, and hell. These teachings add to Norbi's fears and confusion as he tries to understa...

• Mr. Pinato (played by Marcello Mazzarella) — minor

  Mr. Pinato is an Italian tenant living with the Welscheid family. Aloyse is convinced that he is the murderer of the man in Rue des Hauts-Fourneaux, one of the mysteries that concerns the boys. The su...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Father → Mr. Pinato (Professional Landlord And Tenant) — Their landlord-tenant connection places Mr. Pinato within the Welscheid household, where his wartime-related conversations prompt Norbi's questions.

  Mr. Pinato is identified as a tenant of Father, who owns the shop and household where he lives.

• Norbi → Religion Teacher (Professional Pupil And Teacher) — The lessons expose Norbi to religious explanations that unsettle him and complicate his understanding of guilt and authority.

  Norbi attends lessons led by the Religion Teacher and hears frightening claims about baptism, purgatory, heaven, and hell.

• Norbi → Mr. Treines (Professional Pupil And Teacher) — Mr. Treines's harsh authority frightens Norbi and becomes the target of a graveyard ritual performed by Norbi and another child.

  Mr. Treines teaches Norbi at primary school and intimidates pupils with examinations, ridicule, slaps, and other punishments.

• Father → Mother (Family Husband And Wife) — The household's established authority structure is shifting as Father no longer has the last word at home.

  Mother is part of the Welscheid household, and the ending indicates that Father is beginning to lose authority over her as well as over the children.

• Father → Josette (Family Father And Daughter) — Father's close monitoring of Josette becomes one of the family mysteries Norbi tries to understand, while Father's control at home begins to weaken.

  Josette is Father’s daughter, and Norbi notices that Father checks on her closely. The ending indicates that Father is beginning to lose authority ove...

• Norbi → Josette (Family Brother And Sister) — Norbi's concern and suspicions about Josette's private life become part of his growing distrust of the adults around him.

  Josette is identified as Norbi’s sister. Norbi becomes curious about her closely monitored private life and her secretive relationship.

• Norbi → Mother (Family Mother And Son) — Mother offers Norbi comfort, in contrast to Father's strict discipline.

  Mother is Norbi’s mother, and she tries to comfort him amid the strict routines and punishment at home.

• Norbi → Father (Family Son) — Norbi's questions about the past and Father's secrecy and discipline leave Norbi increasingly distrustful of him.

  Norbi is Father’s son. Father refuses to explain the war to him, enforces strict routines and punishment, and closely supervises the family.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Norbi → Mr. Pinato (Social Landlord's Son And Tenant) — Mr. Pinato's presence in the household and the discussion surrounding him contribute to Norbi's suspicion about the adults' wartime histories.

  Mr. Pinato is described as a tenant of Norbi’s father, and Norbi encounters him. Conversations about Mr. Pinato and wartime insults deepen Norbi’s que...

Story Analysis

Through Norbi's perspective, family rules, religious teaching, school authority, and wartime silence turn ordinary life into a web of unanswered questions.

Plot Progression

1. A Child Under Watch — Norbi asks about the war, but Father withholds answers and imposes strict household discipline. Mother offers comfort as Norbi begins to navigate duties beyond home.
2. Lessons in Fear and Authority — Norbi's religious duties expose him to frightening teachings, while Mr. Treines intimidates pupils at school. Norbi and another child respond to the teacher's authority with a graveyard ritual.
3. Guilt and Wartime Doubts — A theft confession is followed by an adult's unsettling offer of money and cinema tickets. Conversations about Mr. Pinato and the war make Norbi question what the adults have concealed.
4. Secrets Without Answers — Norbi becomes increasingly curious about Josette and the information adults hide from children. A police visit connected to a shop closes the excerpt without resolving its mysteries.