Who is Father from The Age of Wire and String and what is their importance?

Father, also known as Michael Marcus, is the narrator's father. Sometimes called the patriarchal figure, the father apparently was "constructed" during a time known as the Age of Wire and String, when a particular type of conversation was invented involving wire and string placed over the mouth. Michael seems to be capable of rages, and will hit the family pets. He sometimes goes away in the course of the book, but he usually seems to be near his son, Ben Marcus. Sometimes, the father appears to be a generic figure rather than Michael Marcus, as when the author discusses a method of communing with a dead father in his grave, or "western worship box."