Gabriel

[FrankieD]

Gabriel came to me as a poor specimen of a father and I started to dislike him at first...but...later I wondered if it was his own fault or was it Ravenna that was the cause? I was surprised when she pushed him into agreeing to Meridia's marriage when he saw her as she was and remembered the woman that he loved. Was it Ravenna that tricked him into this memory so he would change his mind?

                                                                          FrankieD

[kren250]

I don't like Gabriel so far.

I can't tell if he truly hates his daughter, or if there is something else going on that will be revealed later on. It seems strange he would hate her so much for apparently no reason. One speculation I came up with is that maybe the flash of light switched someone (either Ravenna or Meridia?) to a parallel universe? Maybe the "real" Ravenna or Meridia is living in the mists, and that's who Gabriel goes to visit each night? I think the key to his hatred lies in what that flast of light was.

[JerseyAngel]

My first instinct was that he was just a mean angry hateful man. However, as we learn more, I think there is something else to it. Perhaps whatever happened that night that Meridia is trying to learn about. Her father changed but so did her mother. Her mother's neglect & lack of interest in her daughter is just as hurtful as her father's harsh words.

I think when we see a glimpse past this was when Daniel proposed. Her father's concern that she get a good education, marry a man worthy of her (in his eyes), etc all show love & concern for where her life will go. Her mother breaks out of her shell long enough to confront Gabriel to allow the match. Gabriel sees briefly the woman he once loved & noticed the beauty in his daughter. It's almost as if whatever happened that night that brought the mists & cold, seemed to have frozen their hearts & for brief moment we got to see beyond that.

[jclay26]

I don't like Gabriel. He doesn't have much going for him at this point. Maybe I am wrong for feeling that way about him, but this mistress that Ravenna keeps talking about makes me feel a bit biased against him. He is extremely vengeful against Meridia and I cannot fathom why he is so cruel to her. I have not had a change of heart about him as the story has progressed. I hope this will change and that I am completely misjudging him, but we have to dislike someone don't we? Might as well be him. I have a feeling, though, that I am not going to be very fond of Meridia's new mother in law!

[BookWoman718]

Well, the mists are significant enough that they make up part of the title, so I've been trying to think, why mists?   What do they mean?  So far I think they represent the secrets, the hidden meanings of things.  The house itself has a white mist;  it is powerful and can attack people.  Does it represent the central secret of the house as a home:  whatever happened in the dream/reality of Meridia's infancy?  When it attacks visitors, is it being protective or just mean?   The blue and yellow mists into which Gabriel disappears each evening and reappears each morning;  don't they take him to the secret part of his life, the mistress, and then bring him back?  He disappears into the mist as he disappears from his home and the lives of his wife and daughter.    

[Carmenere_lady]

Spoiler Alert would have been nice at the beginning of this post.

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LISA-BRYAN wrote:

1) What are your first impressions of Gabriel?

He is a cold unloving old man with little use for his wife and daughter.

2) Is this man truly so hateful of his own daughter? Do you have any understanding of his awful behavior toward her?

Gabriel is a bully towards Meridia --- he mocks her and treats her awfully.  Perhaps any attention on his part could be construed as love -- but it is a stretch.

3) Do your feelings for Gabriel change as the story goes on?

Yes - he actually does care and love Meridia... if it wasn't for him things would have been much different for Meridia and Daniel and Noah. 

No - his 20+ year affair with Pilar really puts a knife in you... how he could continue a relationship - knowing that his mistress was connected with his daughter's new family was very upsetting.

4) What is Gabriel's relationship with the house and with the mists?

Gabriel eats meals at the house.  When he arrives so do some of the mists.... thus combining with Ravenna's mists make the house colder and less inviting to outsiders.

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[Carmenere_lady]

Yes, Piper, a lack of sense of place is one of the things that bothers me about this novel.  If this story took place in China then Gabriel's feelings regarding his daughter would be better understood.  Yet at times I feel the story takes place in Mexico or Spain.  I the reader feel as if I'm in a mist.

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PiperMurphy wrote:
I'm actually finding Gabriel interesting. This is where not being able to identify the time and place of the setting comes in. I'm visualizing the rigid, straight-laced, English lords of the Victorian era since he is described as wearing a long coat and a top hat. He is the master of his home. I think that he believes that there are certain proprieties that he must maintain, and that these govern how he treats Meridia. I think that there is some significance in the house being made of glass and steel. I don't have this totally figured out; I think it symbolizes several things, but one thing it might be is Gabriel's attitude and behavior - like the old saying about people who live in glass houses.

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Message Edited by Carmenere_lady on 06-01-2009 10:30 PM

[PiperMurphy]

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Carmenere_lady wrote:

Yes, Piper, a lack of sense of place is one of the things that bothers me about this novel.  If this story took place in China then Gabriel's feelings regarding his daughter would be better understood.  Yet at times I feel the story takes place in Mexico or Spain.  I the reader feel as if I'm in a mist.

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PiperMurphy wrote:
I'm actually finding Gabriel interesting. This is where not being able to identify the time and place of the setting comes in. I'm visualizing the rigid, straight-laced, English lords of the Victorian era since he is described as wearing a long coat and a top hat. He is the master of his home. I think that he believes that there are certain proprieties that he must maintain, and that these govern how he treats Meridia. I think that there is some significance in the house being made of glass and steel. I don't have this totally figured out; I think it symbolizes several things, but one thing it might be is Gabriel's attitude and behavior - like the old saying about people who live in glass houses.

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Message Edited by Carmenere_lady on 06-01-2009 10:30 PM

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I'm kind of enjoying the lack of sense of place. Usually I can place myself in a book because I can relate to the setting, especially if I have been to the location. Sometimes that's limiting because I start critiquing whether the author described it correctly. This time I'm free to imagine anything I want. I'm really having fun with it.

[Em18966]

What are your first impressions of Gabriel?

That he is angry and lost.

Is this man truly so hateful of his own daughter? Do you have any understanding of his awful behavior toward her?

I don't think he hates her as much as holds her in contempt.  I think that he is generally unhappy with the way his home life has turned out, and that he sees her birth as the catalyst of the negativity that permeates his home.

Do your feelings for Gabriel change as the story goes on?

In the early chapters, I begin to dislike him more and more.  I cannot have anything but loathing for anyone who deliberately torments their (or any) child.  No matter the motivations.

What is Gabriel's relationship with the house and with the mists?

I think that all of the negative energy that has built in the house recognizes Gabriel as the root of the discord, and both feeds off of him and eggs on his negative behavior.

[CJINCA]

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rkubie wrote:

What are your first impressions of Gabriel?

Is this man truly so hateful of his own daughter? Do you have any understanding of his awful behavior toward her?

Do your feelings for Gabriel change as the story goes on?

What is Gabriel's relationship with the house and with the mists?

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Gabriel's behavior towards his daughter is intolerably harsh, unbelievably cruel.  But, maybe if (see p18) his pride in his family and particularly is daughter was the source of jealousy and ill wishes of the townspeople, and this led to the "cold wind" that was "already tearing the house upside-down" -- then maybe by berating her, belittling her before his friends -- by showing disdain instead of pride -- he is trying to protect her?  Maybe grasping at straws trying to make him less of an ogre...

[els]

What are your first impressions of Gabriel?

My first impressions of Gabriel is that of a typical father from the Eastern part of the world.  I see in him my grandfather, my father as well as other fathers I know from my childhood.  In my experience, most fathers in the eastern part of the world rarely show so much emotion or even talk about it.  In some (if not most) Eastern countries, praising a child's beauty is not allowed for fear that the evil spirits might hear the praises, think the family is too proud and cast a spell or bring harm to the child.  Looking from this perspective allowed me to understand why and how Gabriel acts toward Meridia.

Message Edited by els on 06-02-2009 06:18 AM

[CathyB]

kren250: I like that idea of switching places. I was originally thinking more on the lines that someone/all were ghosts but, this is an alternative that I need to consider.

CathyB

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kren250 wrote:

I don't like Gabriel so far.

I can't tell if he truly hates his daughter, or if there is something else going on that will be revealed later on. It seems strange he would hate her so much for apparently no reason. One speculation I came up with is that maybe the flash of light switched someone (either Ravenna or Meridia?) to a parallel universe? Maybe the "real" Ravenna or Meridia is living in the mists, and that's who Gabriel goes to visit each night? I think the key to his hatred lies in what that flast of light was.

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[fifenhorn]

My initial feelings toward Gabriel were that of anger and disgust. How could he treat his child this way? WHY would he behave in the way he did?  But as I read, I feel pity for this broken man. He appears to have everything, and yet, truly has very little.

He does seem to get his gumption up from time to time though...and appears to grow a spine...

[dhaupt]

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FrankieD wrote:

Gabriel came to me as a poor specimen of a father and I started to dislike him at first...but...later I wondered if it was his own fault or was it Ravenna that was the cause? I was surprised when she pushed him into agreeing to Meridia's marriage when he saw her as she was and remembered the woman that he loved. Was it Ravenna that tricked him into this memory so he would change his mind?

                                                                          FrankieD

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Hi Frankie,

I wondered that myself, it didn't stop my intense dislike of the man, but it did make me wonder why he is like he is. 

[dclement04]

Gabriel to me just seems very depressed and unhappy with his life...the whole family is strange i think...well let me not say strange because to them they probably seem normal so i will say different.

What I dont understand is why he is still with her if he is so unhappy....i know the book said because she didnt want him to leave and they had a deal where she would cook him food but still....

i love the books so far though.

[FrankieD]

Good point dhaupt...although I started wondering about his motives I still haven't lost my dislike for him...at least not yet...he'll have to show me more for me to change my mind.

                                                        FrankieD

[jholcomb]

The more I read, the more Gabriel seemed to be rather a pathetic character, imprisoned by the ghosts of past emotions and by his own pride.

[valorietucker]

I actually like Gabriel and his character, though it is awfully cold the way he treats his wife and his daughter.  Some men are like that, and some things happen to change a man.  I've read the entire book already and it's easy to see why he ended up being so cold and withdrawn, though I also have to criticize and blame his stubbornness that it continued on the way that it did.  Does he hate Meridia?  Of course not.  It's just his new nature to be aloof and somewhat cruel.  Maybe he is punishing her just as he punishes his wife, or he needs an outlet for his anger that he finds in her.

[ButternutQueen]

Gabriel is hateful and awful, yet I keep expecting him to somehow redeem himself.  He reminds me, ever so slightly, of Homer Simpson in the first episodes of the Simpsons.  Homer was so selfish and simply impossible to like at first.  Then the writers gave him a heart, albeit somewhat slow to find it's way, which makes him a caring fathre.  So I persist in thinking "just one page more" and Gabriel will see the light.

[Sassy398]

Gabriel is not a likeable character right now, but like many of us, I am sure he has

his reason for being so cold and calculated.  It seems like the mists are his means of

escaping his homelife.