Father Melancholy's Daughter is very much a novel of character. Reviewers have noted that one meets an entire congregation in these pages.

While most minor characters are partially stereotypes, they are also distinct individuals. Mrs. Major, the parish's "She who must be obeyed," exerts her power through ploys like her obligatory Easter egg hunt. The developer's son, known in high school as the Blimp, slims down and becomes a credible crusading journalist. Many other characters walk through the narrative, all made vivid by their behavior and their impact on the Gowers' lives.

The four central characters — Margaret Gower, Reverend Walter and Ruth Gower, and Ruth's friend Madelyn — are all interesting, sympathetic, and flawed. Of them all, Ruth is both the most mysterious and the least developed. This is natural, as for most of the story she is present only through the memories of the other three...