The son of an unnamed Cantonese woman and English translator Richard Lovell, Robin is just a boy when his entire family dies of cholera. His life changes when his father heals him using silver, makes him take an English name, and takes him to England to become a translator. Robin’s character arc takes him from being a naïve boy to a man who has greater knowledge of himself and the workings of empire.

As a boy in Lovell’s grasp, Robin learns that questioning his father’s decisions can lead to consequences such as severe beatings, and no one will rescue him from such abuse. His status as a ward and Lovell’s threats impress upon him the precarity of his life in England. When Robin matriculates at Babel, he achieves physical distance that allows him greater freedom, financial support such as scholarships, and important sources of emotional support among friends. He feels a sense of safety for the first time.

His relationship with Griffin helps him see the cost of that safety: supporting colonialism. Griffin’s influence shapes all of his major actions after this point, including his decision to sabotage the negotiations between China and England on his first official job as an interpreter.