No Great Mischief

Although Alex has three grandparents, he has a special relationship with his maternal grandfather, whom he simply calls “grandfather.” Alex’s grandfather is a relentlessly practical man, whose young wife died in childbirth and left him to raise a daughter all alone. When that daughter married, Alex’s grandfather adopted the other side of the family also, taking care of Grandpa and Grandma in many different ways. His informed view of history, his huge range of skills, and his quiet insight can be seen in Alex’s character.

When Alex introduces his maternal grandfather into the narrative, he does so through a juxtaposition with his parental Grandpa. The two men are both part of clann Chalum Ruaidh, but Alex notes the key differences between them and decides that his grandfather “seems now more intriguing” (33). The old man was an illegitimate child, whose father and mother were never married. This fractured relationship causes an insecurity in Alex’s grandfather that lingers through to Alex’s present day and becomes one of his defining characteristics. The man’s self-assurance and quietness stem from his determination to not draw too much attention to himself, via either his behavior or his inconsiderate actions. Everything he does seems calculated to improve the situation of his loved ones, giving them the life that he could never quite achieve.

The loneliness of Alex’s grandfather is remarked upon frequently, often by Alex’s Grandma. She describes him as “a fine, good, lonely man who has lived a life without a father and without a wife and these last years without his only daughter” (80) and wishes that he could spend more time with his grandchildren. But Alex’s Grandpa disagrees with her, insisting that the man spends enough time with his grandchildren and remarks that “he is serious” (80), a quality not befitting children. This serious nature fascinates Alex, who spends a great deal of time with his grandfather from an early age. But the more he thinks about his grandfather, the more he can look beyond the wood carving and the comments about history and see both the love and the quiet tragedy that the man bore as his burden. Alex’s grandfather is universally agreed to be a “good man,” though he is not everyone’s favorite person.

The favors he does for people—in particular, Alex’s Grandpa—often show his more caring side. Expecting nothing in return, the man does deeds such as preparing his daughter’s father-in-law for a job in a hospital and filing the same man’s tax returns. The two men could not be more different—one is quiet, one is loud; one drinks heavily, the other not at all—but Alex’s grandfather does these things unheeded. He expects no reward, nor any compliments, but he does them anyway. Whether this is a dedication to family or a commitment to trying to make the world a slightly better place, Alex never really understands. This is, in part, why he finds his grandfather to be the more interesting of the two men. As a result, the grandfather is one of the novel’s most complex characters, while not achieving very much at all.

One of the ways in which Alex’s grandfather stands apart from the rest of clann Chalum Ruaidh is his appreciation for history. History—particularly family history—plays a huge role in the family and hardly an interaction goes by without an allusion to historical events, many dating back hundreds of years. But these little fragments of history are repeated verbatim and taken as fact, regardless of their true verisimilitude. In contrast, Alex’s grandfather actively interrogates the family’s history. He searches for different perspectives and versions of the events that many other family members readily accept.

While for many family members, an appreciation of history extends to repeating the mantra “my hope is constant in thee, Clan Donald,” Alex’s grandfather will challenge the party line. After completing Grandpa’s taxes, for example, he recounts a story about the MacDonald family, challenging the view that they were solely brave warriors. He does this while “smiling almost half apologetically as if he might be spoiling Grandpa’s picture” (78), showing that he acknowledges how much the rest of the family appreciate their history, even if it is not entirely true or complete. He recognizes the value of family history and is careful not to shatter the illusion too thoroughly. Even when he does offer his different perspective, however, Grandpa simply ignores it in favor of his own version of events. This creates a distance between Alex’s grandfather and the other characters; he knows the truth, and he knows that few people will ever truly accept it.

The final example of this is his death. Alex’s grandfather dies alone, halfway through a history book on a subject he has spent his whole life researching. The distance between his friends and family is such that he is not surrounded by people and is studying a subject he knows is so enshrined in family history, nothing in a book could ever change it. But he leaves an impact on his grandchildren, at least those who function best in the modern age. Catherine remarks often about history books she has read, while Alex maintains his grandfather’s quiet dedication to the clann Chalum Ruaidh. In both these children, the man’s influence can be seen. To that extent, it can be possible to read Alex’s grandfather as a reverse of Calum. Just as Calum was out of place in the modern era, Alex’s grandfather was always slightly out of place in the past. That both men were seemingly born in the wrong time is part of the inherent tragedy of the novel.