His Family · Chapter
XXXVI explained
Roger Gale, believing he has less than a year to live, confronts his daughter Deborah about her decision not to marry Allan Baird.
What happens
Roger Gale, believing he has less than a year to live, confronts his daughter Deborah about her decision not to marry Allan Baird. He argues passionately that she will regret choosing a solitary life of work over family and love, and he reveals his plan to set her free in a way that he hopes will frighten her into accepting Baird. After a tense and emotional conversation, Deborah agrees to think it over, though she refuses to accept that her father is dying.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Generational Change
Roger emphasizes the importance of family continuity and generational legacy, urging Deborah to marry and have children to keep the family line alive.
Love, Marriage, and Women's Roles
The central conflict revolves around Deborah's choice between marriage to Allan Baird and her career, highlighting the era's debate over women's roles.
Mortality and Legacy
Roger's impending death drives his urgency to secure Deborah's happiness and legacy through family, reflecting on how one lives on in children.
Characters to notice
- Roger Gale
Confronts Deborah about her decision not to marry Allan Baird, reveals his impending death, and argues for the value of family and love over solitary work.
- Deborah Gale
Emotionally torn between her career and her love for Allan Baird; listens to her father's plea and agrees to think over marrying Baird.
- Allan Baird
Confides in Roger about his love for Deborah and his frustration with her refusal; agrees to wait and try again with Roger's help.
- Bruce Cunningham
Recovering from a serious illness; his crisis passes early in the chapter.
Key passages
“You won’t die! ” she whispered. But he went on relentlessly: “And what will you do without Allan Baird? For you see you have not even worked alone. You have had this man who has loved you there.”
Deborah insists her father will not die, but Roger persists, pointing out that she has not worked alone—Allan Baird has been a crucial partner in her success.
Roger uses Deborah's denial of his mortality to pivot to his argument about Baird's importance in her life.
“I look into my family back and back, and I see how it has been made of many generations. Certain figures stand out in my mind—they cover over a hundred years. And I see how much they’ve meant to me. I see that I’ve been one of them—a link in a long chain of lives—all inter-bound and reaching on.”
Roger reflects on his family history, seeing himself as a link in a chain of generations, and wants Deborah to continue that legacy.
This passage underscores the theme of generational continuity and Roger's desire for Deborah to marry and have children.
“I’m going to die within a year.” As Baird turned on him suddenly, Roger grimly smiled and said, “We won’t go into the details, but I’ve been examined lately and I have quite positive knowledge of what I’ve suspected for some time.”
Roger reveals to Allan that he has been diagnosed with a terminal condition and expects to die within a year, using this to explain his urgency about Deborah's future.
Roger's disclosure to Baird sets the stage for his plan to push Deborah toward marriage.