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T. Ray is Lily’s cruel and abusive father. Throughout most of the novel, T. Ray is portrayed as a monstrous lost cause. He holds strict, traditional patriarchal values, not allowing Lily to dress how she wants and discouraging her from reading and pursuing higher education. When he argues with Lily, he often chooses to lash out at her with bits of truth designed to hurt her as much as possible. He is racist, violent, and cruel. However, as Lily learns more about her mother, Deborah, we discover more about the forces that have shaped T. Ray as a person. He clearly loved Deborah very much, but at the same time didn’t seem to know how to love her. From T. Ray’s outburst when he mistakes Lily for Deborah, we can infer that he is extremely possessive. He drove Deborah away, leaving him with a daughter he’s unprepared to care for.
Taking his past into consideration, T. Ray’s cruelty toward Lily clearly stems from an inability to separate her from Deborah in his mind. Lily is a living reminder of Deborah. Additionally, if what he says about Lily accidentally shooting Deborah is true, he may be punishing her for taking Deborah away from him, even though he himself understands that isn’t fair. He refuses to talk to Lily about Deborah except to weaponize Deborah’s leaving against Lily. When he finally confronts Lily at the end of the novel, the quickness with which he blurs her and Deborah together suggests that he pursued Lily because she’s the one piece of Deborah he still has. He doesn’t insist on bringing Rosaleen back because he doesn’t care about her, but in his own way, he does care about Lily and wants her home. His ultimate willingness to let Lily go, therefore, is the nearest thing he is emotionally capable of doing to express love for his daughter.
