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Janet McIvor
Jock is Ellen’s husband, the patriarchal head of the McIvor family, and he becomes Gemmy’s protector after he comes to live with them. Like the other men of the settlement, Jock is preoccupied with keeping up the illusion of power and respectability amongst his peers, even though he is always at least a bit insecure about his standing. Although Jock gives off the image of a powerful, hard-working man, he is often gloomy and depressed, struggling to get work done until Ellen pushes him to do so. When Gemmy arrives, Jock is privately repulsed by the man and only lets him stay because it’s important to Ellen and the children. In the early months, whenever Gemmy offers any sort of physical affection, Jock is upset, feeling that it is shameful and weak for men to be affectionate towards each other. However, as the family grows closer to Gemmy and the other settlers grow more resentful of his presence, Jock finds himself siding with his family even though doing so goes against his friends. After Gemmy is attacked by other settlers, Jock spends the night sitting awake with Gemmy under a blanket, hugging the terrified man to himself and marking a major change in his understanding of manhood. Jock’s view of the world is shaken when he realizes his trusted mates have betrayed him; the friends whose approval was once the most important thing in the world to him turn out to be of little quality themselves. This realization is a significant coming-of -ge moment, even though Jock himself is already an aging adult. In spite of Jock’s loss of trust in his friends, the persecutions draw him closer to Ellen than he has ever been, signaling that although Jock is dispirited, his character growth is ultimately for the best.
Jock McIvor Quotes in Remembering Babylon
The Remembering Babylon quotes below are all either spoken by Jock McIvor or refer to Jock McIvor. 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:
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Chapter 3
Quotes
The man was troubled. Gemmy saw it and was watchful. Jock’s fear of getting on the wrong side of his friends might in the end be more dangerous to him, he thought, than the open hostility he met in the settlement, where he was always under suspicion, and always, even when no one appeared to be watching, under scrutiny.
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Chapter 7
Quotes
[Ellen] lived in the demands of the moment, in the girls, in Lachlan, and was too high-spirited, too independent, to care whether other women approved of her.
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Chapter 10
Quotes
“For God’s sake, man, when did ye ever tak heed o’ what Andy says? We’re no’ scared o’ stones. Ah thought that was the difference between us and them.”
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Chapter 13
Quotes
Laying aside his rifle, [Jock] crawled with [Gemmy] into that musty, dark-smelling place, and did a thing he could not for his life have done a week, perhaps even an hour ago: he sat huddled close to him in the dark, and when he shivered, drew him closer, pulled the old moth-eaten blanket round the two of them.
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Chapter 17
Quotes
Something had been destroyed in [Jock] that could not be put right. [Lachlan] watched his uncle drift back after a time to his friends, to Barney Mason, Jim Sweetman, but the days of unselfconscious trust in his standing among them, and the belief that to be thought well of by such fellows was the first thing in the world, were gone.
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Jock McIvor Quotes in Remembering Babylon
The Remembering Babylon quotes below are all either spoken by Jock McIvor or refer to Jock McIvor. 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 3
Quotes
The man was troubled. Gemmy saw it and was watchful. Jock’s fear of getting on the wrong side of his friends might in the end be more dangerous to him, he thought, than the open hostility he met in the settlement, where he was always under suspicion, and always, even when no one appeared to be watching, under scrutiny.
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Chapter 7
Quotes
[Ellen] lived in the demands of the moment, in the girls, in Lachlan, and was too high-spirited, too independent, to care whether other women approved of her.
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Chapter 10
Quotes
“For God’s sake, man, when did ye ever tak heed o’ what Andy says? We’re no’ scared o’ stones. Ah thought that was the difference between us and them.”
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Chapter 13
Quotes
Laying aside his rifle, [Jock] crawled with [Gemmy] into that musty, dark-smelling place, and did a thing he could not for his life have done a week, perhaps even an hour ago: he sat huddled close to him in the dark, and when he shivered, drew him closer, pulled the old moth-eaten blanket round the two of them.
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Chapter 17
Quotes
Something had been destroyed in [Jock] that could not be put right. [Lachlan] watched his uncle drift back after a time to his friends, to Barney Mason, Jim Sweetman, but the days of unselfconscious trust in his standing among them, and the belief that to be thought well of by such fellows was the first thing in the world, were gone.
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