Characterization

In this part of the study guide, we will help you with the characterization of the protagonist. As we mentioned in the summary, the main character is an unnamed female, divorced, a single mother, writer and college professor.

The author conveys this information indirectly or implicitly. This means we find out what the protagonist is like through her thoughts, actions, speech, physical appearance and interaction with other characters.

Consequently, her physical appearance is conveyed through her own eyes. This means that we cannot know objectively if this is how she looks like: "A woman both girlish and middle-aged, straggling shoulder length blond hair faded to a smudged looking gray-brown ... healthy body grown thick waisted and her upper thighs disconcertingly heavy." (ll. 128-131)

We can also contrast her current looks with the way she perceived herself in the past: "In her memory there'd been a young wanly blond woman who might have been a next door neighbor, a shy smiling, self-consc...