Robert Jordan’s Father Character Analysis in For Whom the Bell Tolls

Robert Jordan’s father committed suicide with a gun belonging to his father, Jordan’s grandfather, a Civil War veteran. It is clear that Jordan is traumatized by his father’s death—since it is mentioned that he threw the gun into a lake shortly thereafter, perhaps attempting to rid himself of the memory of the suicide—though he does not discuss his grief at length. Jordan’s history with his father casts new light on his fear of death and his ambivalence toward violent acts. Death, it seems, has always been a part of his life, albeit one he is not able to address productively until the end of the novel. Jordan believes his father was a cobarde, a coward, in part because of his suicide, and in part because he let “that woman,” perhaps Jordan’s mother, “bully him.” Clearly, Jordan’s family history has shaped him as a man, because he is reluctant to let any woman control him: Maria, whom he falls for, is subservient to him.

Robert Jordan’s Father Character Timeline in For Whom the Bell Tolls

The timeline below shows where the character Robert Jordan’s Father appears in For Whom the Bell Tolls. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Violence, Cowardice, and Death Theme Icon

...a distraction, Jordan tells himself to remember “something concrete and practical” like the cabinet in Jordan’s father ’s office, with arrowheads on a shelf, war bonnets on a wall, and a buffalo... (full context)

...though he also told him that he did not “care to speak about it.” After Jordan’s father shot himself with this pistol, the coroner returned it to Jordan, saying that his father... (full context)

...an afterlife, both he and his grandfather would be “acutely embarrassed by the presence of his father .” Anyone has a right to kill themselves, Jordan thinks, “but it isn’t a good... (full context)

The Eternality of the Present Theme Icon

...doesn’t want to be a soldier: he just wants to win the war. Thinking about his father has “thrown him off,” since although he forgives his father, he is still “ashamed” of... (full context)

...remembers how he thought last night that he and his grandfather were “so terrific,” while his father was a “coward”; he needs to be as confident now as he was then. Jordan... (full context)

...Lodge to go down to Billings and go away to school for the first time. Jordan’s father had kissed him goodbye, cried, and said a prayer, since he was a “very religious... (full context)

...his leg is now beginning to hurt. He doesn’t “want to do that business” that his father did, but he thinks that if he passes out from his injury and is discovered,... (full context)