A World of Curiosities

A high-ranking homicide investigator on the Quebec police force, Gamache is a mild-mannered and unremarkable man who seldom draws attention to himself. Multiple characters remark that he looks “more like a college professor than a man who chase[s] killers” (16). Gamache leads a quiet life living in the small, close-knit village of Three Pines. He is devoted to his beloved wife, Reine-Marie, and also very close with his children and grandchildren. Gamache’s professional and personal lives exist in stark contrast; while he enjoys a blissful and peaceful domestic life, he spends his career chasing down violent killers: “Every evening Armand Gamache was reminded that goodness existed. And every morning he drove away, to face the horrors” (11).

Gamache is known for his shrewd psychological insights and his ability to stay calm even in the most high-pressure situations. Gamache often solves problems by controlling his initial emotional reactions; for example, he keeps his cool during the dangerous confrontation with Dagenais and his agents: “While his face was composed, Gamache’s heart pounded” (86). Gamache generally trusts his instincts and intuition, but he is also very self-aware and interrogates those instincts as well. As the plot unfolds, he is able to uncover the elaborate revenge plot that Fleming has designed by using both his intellect and his instincts.

Gamache is capable of deep empathy and forgiveness. When Fiona is charged with killing her mother, Gamache advocates on her behalf, and at the end of the novel, Gamache predicts that “he w[ill] speak, once again, on her behalf” (382). In contrast, Gamache finds it almost impossible to see past the deeply negative impression he formed of Sam as a young boy. He can also hold a grudge against someone who is blameless: He initially tries to prevent Amelia Choquet from being admitted to the police academy because she is the daughter of the man who killed his parents. However, he realizes that she is innocent and supports her ambitions as she becomes a competent and life-saving police officer.

Gamache’s character remains relatively consistent over the course of the novel, but he does develop additional insights into his own nature. Gamache comes to see that he is not always an entirely accurate judge of character: He spends much of the plot insistent that Fiona will never engage in criminal activity again, but this turns out not to be true. Gamache also realizes that he is vulnerable to being manipulated by individuals who appeal to his empathy; he misses the fact that Fleming is hiding in plain sight because “he’[s] been blinded by the love Mongeau felt for Sylvie” (335). In addition to these insights into his own character, Gamache encounters the limits of his self-control. After the confrontation with the guard who colluded to let Fleming escape, Gamache fears “going completely mad and committing murder [him]self” (282). These insights into his own nature ensure that Gamache is still growing and learning, even as a man well into middle age.