Between The Acts

Content Warning: This section of the guide depicts characters with colonial, racist, patriarchal, and anti-gay attitudes.

Isabella “Isa” Oliver is one of the protagonists of the novel. She is Giles Oliver’s wife, George and Caro’s mother, and Bart Oliver’s daughter-in-law. Though she does not read as many books as she wishes she did, she is interested in people and information, and she absorbs and internalizes ideas deeply. The story of an assault that she reads about in the newspaper disturbs and troubles her throughout the novel, evidencing her sensitive nature. She also has a propensity toward interesting words and expressions, and she quickly memorizes lines from the pageant, repeating them frequently. She also recites poetry throughout the novel, and her thoughts reveal her to be an intelligent person.

Isa is very introspective and self-aware, frequently thinking about her emotions. She is also very nonjudgmental—she has a good relationship with Mrs. Swithin, whom other characters write off for being eccentric or silly, and Isa also accepts William, not caring about his sexuality. She also feels stifled by Gender Roles and Expectations, despising “the domestic, the possessive; the maternal” (14).

Isa is a loving mother to her two children. Though she married Giles after falling in love with him when they were both on a fishing trip in Scotland, their relationship has become strained over the years.