A River Runs Through It

Norman’s younger brother by three years, Paul is a newspaper journalist and a gifted fly fisherman. He is 32 years old during the summer of 1937. Paul exhibits dangerous behavior, including addictions to gambling and alcohol and an inability to turn away from an honorable fist-fight, suggesting that he is unable to cope with the demands of living in the society of men.

Paul dates a Native American woman, and when she is insulted by a man who yells “‘Wahoo!’” (24) as she passes by, Paul knocks the man’s teeth out. This incident demonstrates Paul’s inability to walk away from a fight when his principles are threatened. Paul defends those who cannot defend themselves, and he hates a bully. Paul is at peace only when he is on the river, in nature. 

A Presbyterian minister of Scottish Canadian ancestry, the elder Maclean teaches his sons to love the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Specifically, through fly fishing, he teaches them a discipline and art that will spiritually sustain them. For all three Maclean men, fly fishing offers a healing, meditative connection with nature. He also teaches them an appreciation for the bonds of family. Though he is a minister, he does not impose his beliefs on his sons; instead, he guides them with love and his own beliefs that God is everywhere in the natural world. As he struggles to help and understand Paul, he shares his struggle with Norman. After Paul’s death, Rev. Maclean and Norman help each other cope with their guilt and with their feelings that they each could have done more to help Paul, feeling a love for a man neither of them understood.     

Mrs. Maclean cares for her sons and husband in a traditional manner. She cooks and cleans, and she finds lost fishing equipment and makes lunch for their river excursions. Gentle and unassuming, she is cherished by her sons. She deals with her grief over Paul’s death by herself, as she has had to do with most of her troubles over the years, as a result of living with three men.

Jessie is Norman’s wife. She shares with Norman the pain of being unable to help a family member who is in trouble. Neal, her brother, is an alcoholic. Jessie’s relationship with Norman is close, and Norman fears the possibility that she will be angry or disappointed with him. For a short time, Neal’s problem comes between Jessie and Norman, until she is able to see that Norman is not responsible for her brother’s bad choices. Like Norman, she comes to understand that a person who does not want to be helped cannot be helped. They resolve their differences: “Without interrupting each other, we both said at the same time, ‘Let's never get out of touch with each other.’ And we never have, although her death has come between us” (77).

Jessie’s brother, Neal, takes a vacation in Wolf Creek during the summer of 1937. His family hopes that during the visit they will be able to help him, because he is an alcoholic. Jessie forces Norman to take Neal fishing, in the hopes that it will help him find peace and connection with the other members of his extended family. Instead, Neal makes a mockery of the Maclean brothers’ fishing expedition by drinking their beer and having sex with a prostitute in the middle of the river.