Brent has a Ph.D. in American Culture, specializing in film studies, from the University of Michigan. She is a freelance writer and teaches courses in the history of American cinema. In the following essay, Brent discusses themes of identity and spirituality in Dubus's story.

Dubus's short story "The Fat Girl" is about a young woman, Louise, who, from the age of nine, is seen by everyone around her as a "fat girl." In order to get around her mother's insistence that she diet, Louise develops the habit of sneaking food which she secretly eats in her bedroom or in the bathroom.

When Louise is in college, her best (and only) friend Carrie puts her on a strict diet, as a result of which she loses some seventy pounds over the course of a year. When she was considered a "fat girl," Louise felt she could never...