# Roaring Abel Gay — The Blue Castle character guide

> Roaring Abel Gay in The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Abel, Abel Gay, Old Abel Gay, Mr. Gay

**First appearance:** 0004-v

## Snapshot

A hard-drinking, oath-slinging woodsman who scandalizes Deerwood, yet hires the town's most repressed spinster to nurse his dying daughter and defends her like family.

## Who they are

Roaring Abel Gay is the neighborhood disgrace—loud, drunk, and cheerfully profane—whose house no respectable woman will enter. He needs someone to cook meals that stick to his ribs and care for his consumptive daughter, and he offers Valancy honest work when her own relatives offer only commands. Blunt where the Stirlings are polite, he becomes an unlikely ally whose plain decency exposes the hypocrisy of the community that condemns him.

## Relationships

### [Valancy Stirling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters/valancy_stirling)

_friendship_

Roaring Abel Gay is Valancy's eccentric, drunken neighbor who becomes her unlikely ally and friend after she defies her family.

### [Cecily Gay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters/cecily_gay)

_family_

Cecily is Roaring Abel's loving but long-suffering daughter, who cares for him despite his alcoholism.

### [Dr. Trent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters/dr_trent)

_professional_

Dr. Trent is Roaring Abel's physician, treating him and his daughter Cecily with professional patience.

### [Valancy Stirling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters/valancy_stirling)

_friendship_

Roaring Abel Gay is Valancy's eccentric, drunken neighbor who becomes her unlikely ally and friend after she defies her family.

### [Valancy Stirling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters/valancy_stirling)

_friendship_

Roaring Abel Gay is Valancy's eccentric, drunken neighbor who becomes her unlikely ally and friend after she defies her family.

### [Cecily Gay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters/cecily_gay)

_family_

Cecily is Roaring Abel's loving but long-suffering daughter, who cares for him despite his alcoholism.

### [Dr. Trent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters/dr_trent)

_professional_

Dr. Trent is Roaring Abel's physician, treating him and his daughter Cecily with professional patience.

### [Dr. Trent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters/dr_trent)

_professional_

Dr. Trent is Roaring Abel's physician, treating him and his daughter Cecily with professional patience.

### [Cecily Gay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters/cecily_gay)

_family_

Cecily is Roaring Abel's loving but long-suffering daughter, who cares for him despite his alcoholism.

## In the story

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/ix)

Roaring Abel drives past the Stirlings on his way to the wedding, drunk but polite; Valancy waves at him, a gesture of fellow feeling that astonishes him.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xiv)

Repairs the porch while drunk; tells Valancy about his troubles and his daughter Cissy's condition; describes his past and his theological views.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xvi)

Meets Valancy at the door, surprised she came, and compliments her ankles.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xvii)

Abel is often away, comes home late and drunk, but is good-natured. He appreciates Valancy's cooking and her boldness in speaking back to him.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xviii)

Roaring Abel engages in conversations and arguments with Barney, and Valancy notes his drunken stages but finds him lovely overall.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xix)

Physically throws Uncle James out of the house and later mocks Dr. Stalling, supporting Valancy's decision to stay.

### [The Dance at Chidley Corners](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xx)

Fiddles at the dance and initially suggests Valancy attend; disapproves of her going to the Free Methodist church.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xxiii)

Abel returns home drunk, is sobered by the news of Cissy's death, and recalls her as a good little girl.

### [Chapter XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xxiv)

Abel insists on a Presbyterian minister for the funeral.

### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xxv)

Goes on a spree after Cissy's funeral; bids Valancy goodbye, grateful for her help.

### [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xxxi)

Barney runs Lady Jane into Roaring Abel's barn for the winter.

### [New Year](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xxxii)

Visits occasionally, bringing his fiddle and apples, playing music, and sharing checkers and conversation.

### [XLI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/chapters/xli)

Mentioned in Valancy's memories of dancing to his fiddle on the island.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters/roaring_abel_gay
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blue_castle_se/characters