James Mack
Religion and family
Gideon鈥檚 father James Mack is a Church of Scotland Minister and a fiercely religious man. His life revolves around preaching the word of God. He is depicted as hard working and well-educated. He is knowledgeable about and committed to his profession.
James is a grave
and forbidding
man. He imposes his religious beliefs onto Gideon, immersing him in a Christian upbringing, and he expects his son to be a devout Christian who lives his life according to Biblical values.
James is also a lawmaker
: a very strict and disciplinarian father who expected Gideon to obey him unquestioningly. He strives to ensure that Gideon has a traditional and wholesome upbringing that is insulated from the harmful effects of modern culture, particularly American trash
.
He is portrayed as an unaffectionate and distant father and husband. After his death, his wife sums up his lack of emotion:
I used to watch his tea getting cold, willing him to drink it, and then when he did his lip curled up as if he didn鈥檛 really want it anyway. His feelings had gone cold, like that tea.
James Mack neglects his family but also intimidates and controls them. His moods affected the entire house
.
Illness and isolation
He changes after his first stroke, an incident provoked when he discovers that Gideon has defied him by watching television on a Sunday.
After this event, he becomes gentler
and more distant
. His authority in the household diminishes. He becomes more isolated, spending most of his time in his study which became a refuge for him
. This allows Gideon to rebel against his dominance and his religious beliefs.
War
After his death, Gideon discovers new information which sheds light on the true character of his father.
His mother tells him that James was traumatised by his experiences during the war and that as a result he was afraid of himself, his own feelings
. She reveals that James was afraid that Gideon would let his feelings get in the way of succeeding in life. She also tells Gideon that his father was afraid that he would lose everything and return to the poverty he experienced in childhood.
James and the Devil
The Devil tells Gideon that having watched him for years
he knew his father well and that he was a sad, frightened man
who, like Gideon, pretended he believed
in God despite having lost his faith during the war. He tells Gideon that his father was hiding
in his study wondering where he鈥檇 gone wrong
and that he lost the will to convince others that God existed.