A Bird in the House

Beth MacLeod, Vanessa’s mother, is depicted as a quietly complex, round character. Initially a nurse before becoming a homemaker, Beth’s life is marked by her avoidance of conflict, a trait potentially inherited from her father’s hot-tempered nature. While Beth maintains a close relationship with her sister, Edna, her own temperament is more measured and understanding, making her a voice of reason within the family dynamics. However, her relationship with Grandmother MacLeod is strained, highlighting her capacity to hold firm opinions despite her generally conciliatory nature.

Beth’s relationship with her husband, Ewen, is shaded with nuances of unspoken burdens. Having been together before World War I, their connection deepens with experiences unshared and words unspoken; Ewen keeps much of his war-time experiences to himself, and Beth does not press for those details. This dynamic illustrates her understanding and respect for personal boundaries, even within intimate relationships. Her modesty and concern for appearances are evident in her embarrassment over showy displays, suggesting a complex interplay between her external presentation and internal resilience. Ewen’s description of her—“you look like as though a puff of wind would blow you away. But underneath, by God, you’re all hardwood” (96)—underscores her inner strength and tenacity.

Beth’s approach to family life and financial hardships further defines her character. Her declaration to Ewen that money isn’t the most important thing to her reflects her values and her prioritization of family and emotional wealth over material success. This sentiment is consistent with her behavior throughout the narrative, where she often acts as the familial anchor, stabilizing her family through her quiet, steadfast support and occasional indulgence in smoking a cigarette with Edna.

As Vanessa matures, her perspective on her mother evolves from teenage criticism to adult appreciation, noting Beth’s death affected her the most. Vanessa recognizes her mother’s strength and self-sacrifice, acknowledging her significant yet understated impact.

Ewen MacLeod is a round and complex character. As Vanessa’s father, he holds a special place in her childhood memories, where she sees him as a heroic figure, someone she desperately wants to impress with her intellect. Ewen, a doctor by profession, embodies a form of distant dedication; he is highly committed to his work, perhaps to the extent of using it as a shield to avoid the emotional complexities of his family life. His approach to treating his family is more relaxed than his professional demeanor, suggesting a disconnect between his public and private selves.

During the Great Depression, Ewen struggled financially and was unable to earn enough to support his family comfortably. This only added to his burdens and fueled his tendency to overwork. This tendency, critiqued by Beth’s father, is a form of escapism, allowing Ewen to bury himself in work rather than face the challenging dynamics at home, such as the strained relationship with Grandfather Connor. Ewen’s avoidance is evident in his interactions—or the lack thereof—with his father-in-law and is highlighted by his absence from family gatherings, like the Sunday dinner in the first story.

Ewen is a World War I veteran who experienced the trauma of war firsthand, having witnessed his brother die. He blames himself for his brother Roderick’s death because Roderick had accidentally blinded himself with Ewen’s gun before getting drafted. This tragic incident leads him to a life marked by guilt and a compulsion to appease others, which results in him avoiding conflicts. He has very little control over his life; he is not even able to choose the name of his own son. His internal conflict and the burden of his past shape his actions and relationships, making him distant and lonely.

Vanessa’s discovery of a photograph of a woman from France, with whom Ewen might have had an affair, suggests that Ewen, much like other characters in the narrative, had hidden depths and private sorrows that were not apparent to Vanessa in her youth. This revelation after his death does not tarnish his image for Vanessa; instead, it allows her to see her father as a more rounded human being, flawed and burdened by unspoken feelings and experiences. This understanding helps Vanessa reconcile the idealized hero of her childhood with the more nuanced human figure.

Grandmother MacLeod emerges as a complex, round character whose initial portrayal as an antagonist or obstacle slowly unfolds to reveal a woman deeply influenced by her circumstances and her fears. Living in the house once owned by Ewen’s father and later moving in with her daughter after Ewen’s death, she embodies the struggle of adapting to the profound changes brought about by the Depression and World War I.

It is revealed that the characters Vanessa clashes with most are also the ones she mirrors. Grandmother MacLeod’s conservative nature and attempts to maintain a façade of wealth and tradition resonate with Vanessa’s struggles with identity, change, selfishness, and control. Grandmother MacLeod’s behavior—exaggerating their past wealth and purchasing Irish linen—highlights her inability to accept the new realities of her life, portraying her as shallow and self-absorbed through Vanessa’s young eyes.

Her bedroom, filled with relics of a well-appointed past, and her fixation on her Scottish heritage and the historic prestige of the MacInnes name suggest a deep-seated need to cling to identity and status as anchors. This obsession also hints at her underlying fear and insecurity about her current social standing and the loss of her familiar world. This fear is subtly coupled with her guilt over the heroic image she crafted for her son Roderick, which may have contributed to his demise, much like the chivalric figures of Scottish lore she admired.

Grandmother MacLeod’s vulnerability becomes particularly evident following Ewen’s funeral, when she needs assistance walking up the stairs—an intimate moment that allows Vanessa, reflecting as an adult, to recognize the depth of her grandmother’s character. Vanessa is able to understand that her grandmother’s seemingly superficial actions were not out of self-indulgence but a defense mechanism against the harsh realities of her life.

Aunt Edna, a secondary but round character in the story, is Beth’s sister and Vanessa’s aunt. Known for her sarcastic and lighthearted demeanor, Edna’s life reflects the struggle of maintaining independence while confronting personal vulnerabilities during challenging times. After losing her job as a secretary due to the Depression, she moves back home with her mother and father. At 28, she looks after her parent’s house, cooking and cleaning, but receives little recognition. Despite societal expectations to marry for security, Edna refuses, emphasizing her desire to marry for love rather than convenience.

Edna invests in her appearance with makeup and has dated men, yet she remains guarded. During an evening with an old flame named Jimmy, he confronts her with his feelings, and after a dinner where she deflects his inquiries with humor, Vanessa discovers Edna crying in bed. Uncle Terence aptly describes her “shield” and typical response to emotional risk with “[w]isecracks” (87).

Her demeanor often mirrors the quick temper of her father and niece, Vanessa. Despite this, she is described as having a “flyaway manner” (61), suggesting her whimsical approach to relationships and her difficulty in forming lasting emotional bonds. Her resistance to vulnerability continues until her sister Beth persuades her to acknowledge her feelings for Wes, leading to their marriage and subsequent move to Nova Scotia.

Grandfather Timothy Connor is portrayed through the lens of Vanessa’s childhood and adult perspectives. Initially seen as an antagonist, his character is gradually revealed to be tragic and multifaceted, making him a deuteragonist who reflects many qualities Vanessa herself possesses. Grandfather Connor, a physically imposing figure with “yellowy gray hair” that once was black and a “drum-chested” build, indicating past strength, embodies the archetype of the bear—not only in his physicality but also in his protective and sometimes aggressive behavior. Young Vanessa’s characterization of him as a bear was initially meant to be cruel, but it becomes more apt as the complexity of his character is revealed, highlighting his deep-seated instinct to protect his family, albeit often through gruff and critical means.

Grandfather Connor’s actions and demeanor are depicted as impatient, irritated, and unkind. His history as a pioneer who forged a path to Manitoba, built the first brick house, and owned a hardware store paints him as a figure of resilience and rugged individualism. His retirement does not temper his involvement in his business or his desire to influence his surroundings, including his family. His complex character is further colored by his social interactions; he quit his Methodist congregation over Scottish people being included, demonstrating his strong opinions and stubbornness.

Grandfather Connor’s inability to express his emotions clearly without anger and his critical outlook distances him from his family, even as he tries to secure their well-being and future. His moments of vulnerability, such as his tears following Grandmother Connor’s death, reveal a depth of feeling that Vanessa, reflecting back, recognizes as expressions of love and protection that went unnoticed or simply ignored. His feelings of rejection and loneliness due to his family’s lack of love toward him build walls around him, much like the brick walls of his house. As a result, he becomes “in some way, untouchable” (84). This reevaluation allows Vanessa to see Grandfather Connor not just as a figure of authority and antagonism but as a profoundly human character who experiences loneliness, regret, and a yearning for familial connection.