Great jorney of exploration (self- and otherwise). I can relate with the character self if inadequacy or unfittingness. Nothing worse than feeling older than your peers. It never ends. When you're 18 you feel you 40, at 40 you are a grumpy old man.
I liked how subtly the story, from the very title, fools us into contemplating our inner selves, with all their follies and virtues, in a way that mirros the contemplation of world affairs.
What is virtue? What is heroic? What does it mean to do the right thing? Is there a convenient time for that?