"The Wars" Characters

Robert Ross: Was 19 years old when he enlisted into the Canadian Forces. He is a compassionate loving man who is also very handsome. He suffers the loss of his older sister Rowena who he loved very much. He received a lot of guilt and sorrow when his sister died and blamed himself for not watching over her because he considered himself her guardian. He loses touch with his mother because of the death of his sister and becomes closer to his father. He then joins the army to further himself away from his family and the memories of Rowena.

Rowena Ross: Rowena is Robert's older sister, whom Robert felt a connection to from a very early age. She was hydro-cephalic, meaning she was born with water in the brain. This caused her to have an adult sized head but a body of a ten-year-old, and made her unable to walk. Robert acted as her guardian for most of his life. She was 25 years old when she fell out of her wheel chair in their barn and shortly after, passed away. Because of Robert's protective nature towards her, he felt extreme guilt for not being there to watch her and make sure nothing happened, like that. However, she remained in Robert's heart and mind throughout the rest of the novel and was constantly referenced. Rowena also had ten rabbits that she looked after and kept as pets while she was alive that Mrs. Ross insisted be killed, against Robert's wishes, shortly after Rowena's death.

(The anatomy of a skeleton with Hydro cephalic)

Thomas Ross: Commonly referred to as Mr. Ross in the novel, who is the father of Robert Ross. He was the more lenient parent in the family and loved every member enough to encourage Robert to go for what he wants, but be lenient towards Rowena's death and the accusations that were made. The relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Ross becomes helpless after Rowena's death and Robert's enlisting in the army.

Marian Elizabeth Ross:  Mrs. Ross is Robert's mother who has issues with closeness to people that she truly loves. She believes it’s hopeless to try and keep people alive. This way of being "distant" from the ones she loves is displayed early on in the novel when she joins Robert in the bathroom during his bath. She tells him that "people in the world are all born alone and at the hands of strangers" and tells him that she could do nothing to keep him alive from the moment he was cut away from her. This statement makes it seem as though she doesn't care about Robert going off to the army because she can't keep him alive anyways.

Marian Turner: Marian Turner is a young nurse during the war. She is introduced through transcripts and she tells about Robert when he was a young man.