At first glance, Gabriel is easy to dislike and easier yet to misinterpret. When the reader is introduced to Gabriel, he remains unnamed through the descriptive perspectives of his children, John, Roy, and Sara, and his wife, Elizabeth. We discover that Gabriel apparently endorses the popular, biblical notion of family structure at that time which dictated that the male has the power in the family. Gabriel interprets the father's role as protector: to feed, to clothe, to provide shelter, and to insure the holy status of his family's souls even if he must beat them into compliance. Any deed he does not approve he quickly classifies as wicked or sinful and, therefore, prohibited. In all matters, he holds his family's will subservient to his own. Disputes with his wife or children are often resolved by physical violence which he believes is not only condoned but mandated by God, and he enjoys his position as reverend, even though John views him as merely a "holy handyman" who is called upon when no one else is available.
Our first impression of Gabriel, however, is brought into question when, several pages into Part One, after we have just begun to solidify our judgment of him, we learn his name is Gabriel, an obvious allusion to the biblical Gabriel who was the prince of angels sent by God to make arrangements for the arrival of Jesus: Gabriel is the angel who informed Mary that she would give birth to the "Son of God" and probably the angel who was sent to Joseph and the shepherds; he is also the angel who earlier had informed Zacharias that he and his wife Elisabeth [sic] would parent John the Baptist.
