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Guillaume
David’s father is an American man who, along with his sister, Ellen, raises David. After David’s mother dies when he’s only five, his father devotes himself to him, though he doesn’t know how to be a conventional parent. Rather than wanting to have a traditional father-son relationship with David, he tries to bond with his son as if they’re friends—a dynamic David comes to dislike because all he wants is parental support. Despite their unconventional connection, though, David’s father cares strongly about him. In particular, he wants David to become a true man, a sentiment he expresses to Ellen one night after coming home drunk. Ellen accuses him of setting a bad example for David by drinking too much and spending all of his time with women, but he doesn’t pay attention to her, instead insisting that he can raise David however he wants. Later, when David moves to Paris, his father feels at a loss because he doesn’t understand why his son would want to live so far away. When he implores David to return, David senses the old man’s concern, realizing that his father must sense that he’s attracted to men but can’t bring himself to ask him the truth.
David’s Father Quotes in Giovanni’s Room
The Giovanni’s Room quotes below are all either spoken by David’s Father or refer to David’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1: Chapter 1 Quotes
For I am—or I was—one of those people who pride themselves on their willpower, on their ability to make a decision and carry it through. This virtue, like most virtues, is ambiguity itself. People who believe that they are strong-willed and the masters of their destiny can only continue to believe this by becoming specialists in self-deception. Their decisions are not really decisions at all—a real decision makes one humble, one knows that it is at the mercy of more things than can be named—but elaborate systems of evasion, of illusion, designed to make themselves and the world appear to be what they and the world are not.
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Explaining the kind of relationship he has with his father, David says that he was able to trick the old man into thinking that he leads a certain lifestyle as a heterosexual man. He claims that he’s able to do this because he’s the type of person who can devote himself to achieving something when he sets his mind to it. Indeed, he prides himself on having strong “willpower” and the “ability to make a decision and carry it through.” However, he now realizes that what he used to think of as a respectable discipline is nothing but a form Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima po
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David’s Father Character Timeline in Giovanni’s Room
The timeline below shows where the character David’s Father appears in Giovanni’s Room. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: Chapter 1
...he could ever want to do such a thing. He’d also thought sadly about his father, remembering that he was all the old man had. Then, suddenly, he decided to put...
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Thinking about his childhood, David reflects upon his relationship with his father, remembering that his mother died when he was five and that, for this reason, David...
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Hoping to bond over a shared sense of masculinity, David’s father has always wanted to treat him as a friend rather than a son, but David...
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When he leaves the hospital, David and his father have a frank discussion about his future. David hasn’t gone to college and doesn’t know...
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For a long time, David keeps his father happy by leading a life that pleases the old man, even joining the Army at...
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Part 2: Chapter 1
During this period, David writes letters to Hella and his father without actually telling them much of anything. Privately, he feels as if Giovanni has made...
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Part 2: Chapter 2
One day, David receives letters from his father and Hella. The one from his father implores him to come home. His father doesn’t...
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Part 2: Chapter 4
David writes a letter to his father. In this letter, he claims that he has been keeping his relationship with Hella a...
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...subject, David tells Hella that he wants to leave Paris when the money from his father arrives. Although she’s surprised by this suggestion, Hella agrees to go wherever he wants, so...
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...and watches Paris turn from summer to fall. Before long, he receives money from his father and starts preparing to move to southern France, where he and Hella have rented a...
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