The aim of this diploma thesis is a comparative analysis of the image of a forsaken child in the stories written by a popular English writer Neil Gaiman. The survey of a forsaken child in the Gothic, Romantic and Victorian literature (Walpole, Radcliffe, Blake, Dickens, the Brontë sisters) precedes the interpretation. In addition, this diploma thesis considers the separation of the young hero from his family and friends in traditional fairy tales. In this respect, the thesis discusses the role of transitional rituals and their links to the theme of the test in adventurous literature (Gennep, Bachtin). The first, theoretical chapters point out the fact that the transition to a new existence (adulthood) is often accompanied by horror elements or the nearness of death in the adventurous stories. The novel Coraline is a basis for the literary analysis. The psychological characteristic of the main heroine and her family is linked to the function of home and the role of "the other mother" as a source of the Gothic atmosphere and danger. The following chapters analyse other Gaiman's works ("M is for Magic", The Graveyard Book, Odd and the Frost Giants, Fortunately, the Milk, The Ocean at the End of the Zone) in order to study the relations between the reality and dreams, violence and interpersonal relationships, and to describe the heroes' search for the individual identity.