The Guncle Abroad

Patrick O’Hara is the protagonist of The Guncle Abroad and acts as a guide to his niece and nephew, Maisie and Grant. He takes them on a trip across Europe and tries to teach them about love in a way that will make them appreciate their father’s new fiancée, Livia. Despite his presumed wisdom, Patrick spends most of the novel in doubt about his own knowledge of love because of the insecurity he feels around his breakup with his long-term boyfriend, Emory. He therefore is partly a sage character who imparts wisdom and partly a dynamic character in need of wisdom. 

Patrick splits from Emory because of the large age gap between them, and his impending 50th birthday party makes him more anxious: “Patrick couldn’t believe Greg didn’t see it. ‘When he’s my age, I’ll be sixty-six. I don’t want to date someone who is sixty-six. Emory will not want to date someone who is sixty-six’” (205). Patrick loves Emory, but he is unsure of what his own life will look like as he grows older, and he feels The Tension of Aging in their relationship. He presumes that Emory will not want to be with him and lose his love for Patrick because of Patrick’s age.