Gilbert Reilly (usually called Gil) is an elderly widower and a neighbor of Luke and Anna. Gil quickly befriends Luke and Anna after they move to the small coastal town of Garra Nalla. He offers advice, explains the lore of the area, and surprises Luke and Anna with how laid-back and accepting he is for a man of his age. With his helpful attitude and friendly demeanor, he makes the couple feel more welcome in their new home. While this makes him a hopeful sign that Luke and Anna's lives can get better, Gil harbors a quiet sadness of his own. Luke is surprised to learn that Gil has a grandson serving in the war in Afghanistan, and that Gil never talks about it. This is a direct parallel to Luke and Anna, who hesitate to talk about Anna's miscarriage and the child they never had.
Gil Quotes in Vertigo
The Vertigo quotes below are all either spoken by Gil or refer to Gil. 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:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
‘In the middle of a bloody drought!’ fumes Gil. ‘It’ll be a fire hazard for one thing. And I’ll tell you another thing. It’ll suck up all the water out of the water table and eventually out of the lagoon. In five years’ time that lagoon will be a bloody mudflat. Them swans’ll have to find somewhere else to breed.’
Related Characters:
Gil (speaker), Anna Worley, Luke Worley
Related Symbols:
Birds
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Vertigo LitChart as a printable PDF.
Gil Character Timeline in Vertigo
The timeline below shows where the character Gil appears in Vertigo. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Luke and Anna have two neighbors in Garra Nalla: Gilbert Reilly and Rodney Banfield. Gilbert (whom they call Gil) is an old widower who introduced...
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After visiting an old mansion in the area, Luke and Anna ask Gil about the history of the place. Gil explains that the mansion once belonged to the...
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Gil also recounts the story of how Garra Nalla’s coastal area was once called Ross’s Farm....
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Chapter 2
...to an old-fashioned school inspector, but Luke is miffed by the way Ken condescends to Gil. In the meantime, Anna notices that the boy never seems to appear when Ken or...
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...Nalla, bringing a relentless wind with it. A dry, scouring wind blows constantly, surprising even Gil with its consistent intensity. While Anna tries to put up with it, the wind eventually...
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...was apparently so uneventful during Sir Frederick’s day. Alan surprises Luke by telling him that Gil has a grandson deployed as a commando in Afghanistan. Luke wonders why Gil wouldn’t have...
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When the couple tells Gil that they’re visiting the city, he tells them to be careful not to “get caught...
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...tree to be beautiful and mysterious like no other plant she knows. To her annoyance, Gil advises her not to plant she-oaks, as they’re extremely flammable. On her first night back...
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Gil visits Luke and Anna in an uproar one night to tell them that the consortium...
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Chapter 3
...the garden, arranging them in a disorganized way so that they look wilder. Luke, Anna, Gil, and the Watts celebrate the new garden at Luke and Anna’s house, taking the lack...
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...the smoke in the air gets thicker, Luke says he’s going to go check on Gil, insisting that Anna should stay home and keep out of the smoke to avoid an...
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...sunglasses, Anna and Luke stagger up to the headland. Many of the other townspeople (including Gil and Alan) are already gathered to watch the blaze while shielding their eyes. An explosive...
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Eventually, Gil points towards the horizon and tells everyone that the wind has changed direction; it’s no...
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Luke and Anna look around for Gil and Alan as they listen to the distant roar of the fire, but with no...
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...Just then, she hears Luke calling for her. She finds him on the veranda, watching Gil raking charred embers away in his yard.
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Luke and Anna immediately pay Gil a visit, and he cheerfully confirms that the Watts were evacuated to a nearby town,...
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