Lala Primus

Lala is the protagonist of the novel. She is married to Adan. She is the daughter of Esme and granddaughter of Wilma and Carson. At the start of the novel, Lala is a meek, submissive housewife. She is loyal to her husband in spite of the fact that he abuses her emotionally and physically. The narrator says, “Of course [Lala] did not leave him. What woman leaves a man for something she is likely to suffer at the hands of any other?” (133). Lala’s mindset gradually begins to change. One incident which makes her realize that Adan does not truly love her is when he rapes her. The narrator says, “But you cannot call his name, cannot make him stop because, like the wave that crests and falls and disappears somewhere beneath the wooden floorboards, he is out of reach. Somehow beyond you, woman or not” (31). Lala...