The Wars

The Wars

by

Timothy Findley

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Wars makes teaching easy.

Mrs. Ross Character Analysis

The wife of Thomas Ross and the mother of Robert, Rowena, Stuart, and Peggy Ross. Having lost both her younger brother Monty Miles Raymond and her daughter Rowena in tragic accidents, she is plagued by grief and self-blame that only worsens after Robert ships off to fight in World War I. Mrs. Ross fruitlessly pursues retribution for her personal traumas as well as for the war itself—she has Rowena’s pet rabbits killed to avenge her daughter’s death and cries out at God over the injustice of sending young men like Robert off to die in battle. Mrs. Ross becomes increasingly paranoid about death while Robert is overseas, obsessing over his letters and blaming herself for the dangers he faces as a soldier. She ultimately punishes herself by falling into alcoholism and forcing herself to take long walks in the harsh Canadian winter that mirror Robert’s own struggle with the elements during war. Her close friend, Miss Davenport, moves in with the Ross family as Mrs. Ross loses coherency and becomes unable to fulfill her role as a wife and mother. When Mrs. Ross receives the news that Robert is missing in action, she is so distraught that she claims to go blind. Unlike her husband, Mrs. Ross does not attend Robert’s burial after he passes away at St. Aubyn’s.

Mrs. Ross Quotes in The Wars

The The Wars quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Ross or refer to Mrs. Ross. 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:
Trauma and War Theme Icon
).
Part 1, Chapter 9 Quotes

All these actors were obeying some kind of fate we call “revenge.” Because a girl had died—and her rabbits had survived her.

Related Characters: Robert Ross, Mrs. Ross, Rowena Ross, Mr. Thomas Ross, Teddy Budge
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 22 Quotes

“I do not understand. I don’t. I won’t. I can’t. Why is this happening to us, Davenport? What does it mean—to kill your children? Kill them and then…go in there and sing about it! What does that mean?” She wept—but angrily.

Related Characters: Mrs. Ross (speaker), Robert Ross, Miss Davenport
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 29 Quotes

But Mrs. Ross just stood at the windows of the private car and was afraid to go outdoors. Her mind was full of trolley cars and she knew that if she tried to cross the tracks, then she and everyone would be struck down. Instead, she waved from behind the glass and she watched her boy depart and her husband standing in his black fur coat—it seemed for hours—with his arm in the air and the snow falling down around him. “Come on back to the raf’, Huck, honey.” And this was what they called the wars.

Related Characters: Mrs. Ross (speaker), Robert Ross, Rowena Ross, Mr. Thomas Ross, Monty Miles Raymond
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4 Quotes

Robert I discovered was a very private man. His temper, you know, was terrible. Once when he thought he was alone and unobserved I saw him firing his gun in the woods at a young tree. It was a sight I’d rather not have seen. He destroyed it absolutely. Other times he would throw things down and break them on the ground…he had a great deal of violence inside and sometimes it emerged this way with a gesture and other times it showed in his expression when you found him sitting alone on the terrace or staring out of a window.

Related Characters: Lady Juliet d’Orsey (speaker), Robert Ross, Mrs. Ross
Page Number: 174
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Wars LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Wars PDF

Mrs. Ross Quotes in The Wars

The The Wars quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Ross or refer to Mrs. Ross. 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:
Trauma and War Theme Icon
).
Part 1, Chapter 9 Quotes

All these actors were obeying some kind of fate we call “revenge.” Because a girl had died—and her rabbits had survived her.

Related Characters: Robert Ross, Mrs. Ross, Rowena Ross, Mr. Thomas Ross, Teddy Budge
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 22 Quotes

“I do not understand. I don’t. I won’t. I can’t. Why is this happening to us, Davenport? What does it mean—to kill your children? Kill them and then…go in there and sing about it! What does that mean?” She wept—but angrily.

Related Characters: Mrs. Ross (speaker), Robert Ross, Miss Davenport
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 29 Quotes

But Mrs. Ross just stood at the windows of the private car and was afraid to go outdoors. Her mind was full of trolley cars and she knew that if she tried to cross the tracks, then she and everyone would be struck down. Instead, she waved from behind the glass and she watched her boy depart and her husband standing in his black fur coat—it seemed for hours—with his arm in the air and the snow falling down around him. “Come on back to the raf’, Huck, honey.” And this was what they called the wars.

Related Characters: Mrs. Ross (speaker), Robert Ross, Rowena Ross, Mr. Thomas Ross, Monty Miles Raymond
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4 Quotes

Robert I discovered was a very private man. His temper, you know, was terrible. Once when he thought he was alone and unobserved I saw him firing his gun in the woods at a young tree. It was a sight I’d rather not have seen. He destroyed it absolutely. Other times he would throw things down and break them on the ground…he had a great deal of violence inside and sometimes it emerged this way with a gesture and other times it showed in his expression when you found him sitting alone on the terrace or staring out of a window.

Related Characters: Lady Juliet d’Orsey (speaker), Robert Ross, Mrs. Ross
Page Number: 174
Explanation and Analysis: