Giles is Penelope’s first husband and Adam and Sarah’s father. Penelope meets Giles in high school, shortly after she’s crushed by the revelation that she’s adopted; she leans on him for emotional support and becomes quickly attached. Giles’s sexist beliefs—specifically his insistence that Penelope stay home and care for the children and domestic duties, denying her desire to make us of her teaching degree–eventually persuade Penelope to end their relationship.
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Giles Character Timeline in Girl, Woman, Other
The timeline below shows where the character Giles appears in Girl, Woman, Other. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: Penelope
...adoring man, and have children to fill the void left by her adoption. She meets Giles shortly after the news of her adoption destroys her, and he puts her pieces back...
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Penelope and Giles get married after she earns her teaching degree. Giles is loving and affectionate, and their...
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...book, which she hides in the closet where she keeps her cleaning supplies, a place Giles never enters. The book reveals that her misery isn’t hers alone but is shared by...
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...class English women and the “Third World” women who get to work and be mothers. Giles laughs at her, but undeterred, Penelope follows him around day and night on her “freedom...
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...teach. Her children grow attached to him because he’s affectionate and playful with them, while Giles never was.
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...been sleeping with a woman younger than her daughter in their shared home. Penelope misses Giles, who seems appealing now in comparison. Giles is living in Hong Kong with his second...
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...up on her feminist politics, she’s happy for Sarah, wanting her only to be self-fulfilled. Giles is the kids’ favorite parent because he supports them financially, which makes Shirley sad since...
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