Characterization of the narrator

The narrator is a gay headmistress

The main character of the short story “The Lamb” by Andrea Carter is the unnamed narrator. She grew up in Ireland and moved to Australia as an adult (l. 38). She is a headmistress (ll. 121-122). She appears to be middle-aged as she is in town for her 30-year school reunion. She and her childhood friend Ruth attended the St. Mary’s Catholic school for girls (122-123). 

The narrator has a grown-up son named Robert, who appears very fond of his mother. Robert was the result of a drunken one-night stand, so the narrator is probably single. In the light of the narrator’s confession in the last paragraph, we learn that the narrator is gay. We never learn whether that was true for Ruth, too.

The young narrator betrays her best friend to fit in

In the past, the narrator experienced an internal conflict between her affection for Ruth and her wish to fit in with the popular kids. Thus, when she is invited by Dee...