Isobel and Margaret’s father and May’s husband, Robert, dies early on in the novel. At first, he seems to be a benign presence, tired of his wife’s rage and desirous of peace and quiet, but as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that he largely enabled his wife’s abuse and turned a blind eye to Isobel’s suffering.
Get the entire I for Isobel LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mr. Robert Callaghan Character Timeline in I for Isobel
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Robert Callaghan appears in I for Isobel. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: The Birthday Present
...somewhat desolate. Each day of the vacation, Isobel watches to see if her mother or father will head across the lake into town to purchase a present for her from the...
(full context)
...drop all the money. Isobel still doesn’t know what happened to it. Isobel’s mother and father berated her for “begging,” and the day was a terrible one.
(full context)
Chapter 3: The Grace of God and the Hand-Me-Down
...and more like their third sister, Aunt Yvonne, whom Noelene notes she hasn’t seen since Mr. Callaghan ’s funeral. Mrs. Callaghan says that Yvonne’s family is doing well and is focused on...
(full context)
Chapter 5: I for Isobel
...parents in her mind and out loud as “spiteful tormenting bastards.” She realizes that her father was in many ways just as bad as her mother, as he helped to instill...
(full context)
