I have an Appointment object with a very simple AppointmentVersion object that contains a single field, a string (e.g. class AppointmentVersion { ... private String apptVer; } and ... class Appointment { ... private AppointmentVersion av; } ). AppointmentVersion is mapped in hibernate as a Component in Appointment (therefore, its field is in the Appointment table). I want to be able to delete an Appointment object using an AppointmentVersion object but ... I don't know how to do this using a Component. Any help? Thanks.