Catherine Craigie
Formidable and anti-religion
Catherine is a retired schoolteacher and expert on standing stones. She is depicted as being an intimidating, opinionated and strong-minded woman - Monimaskit鈥檚 most formidable female inhabitant
and someone who is admired
but not liked.
She is also the town鈥檚 most outspoken and inveterate atheist
who is fiercely anti-religion and disapproves of and mistrusts the Church and its representatives.
Friendship
Gideon develops an unlikely friendship with Catherine. They bond about their shared agnostic beliefs and their critical view of organised religion. They develop a strong relationship based upon mutual respect and trust. Gideon is attracted to her honesty as well as her astonishing knowledge
and precision of thought
.
Gideon feels that he and Catherine understood each other
and he is comfortable in her company. He knows that he can confide in her, be himself and not worry about her betraying his lack of belief in God.
Standing stone
Gideon believes that Catherine will always be truthful and honest with him. This is why Catherine is one of the first people that he tells about the standing stone in Keldo Woods. However, she dismissed his claims as being ghost and fairy stuff
and tells him he must be imagining things
. For Catherine belief and faith are not enough:
Bring me proof
Catherine鈥檚 funeral
The strength of their friendship is shown when Catherine asks Gideon to organise her funeral and officiate the proceedings. Despite knowing that it would attract severe criticism and controversy in the local community, he conducts Catherine鈥檚 non-religious funeral, thus fulfilling the promise that he made to her before she died.