Characterization of the narrator

The main character of the short story “Child of God” is the unnamed narrator. Her name and age are not specified. She has “hair accented with gold balayage” and pink acrylic nails, and she is carrying a new designer bag, which shows that she might be well off or, at least, trying to appear so. 

The narrator is not married, but she is having an affair with a man named Bill, who is engaged to her friend Petra. The narrator also recounts that her parents separated when she was four, and her mother started having affairs with other men.

From the beginning of the story, the narrator appears to not be able to take accountability for her actions. She confesses how her friend Bill, who is set to marry her other friend Petra, has been cheating on his fiancé with her. The narrator considers whether she should tell her friend about Bill’s adultery, but the fact that she will have to admit to her own involvement is holding her back: 

He wanted to hook up. He and Petra weren’t married, not for another month, but she was my friend and she didn’t know and if I told her about Bill, I’d have to say I was the other woman. 

And I wasn’t. Not usually. 

The narrator downplays her involvement with Bill by saying she was not “the other woman […] Not usually.” This shows that she is looking for excuses to minimize her guilt about her actions. 

Moreover, the narrator go...