Shawn’s wife. Nearly a decade younger than Shawn, she has a “compliant” personality. Though Tara foretells that Emily and Shawn’s marriage will be marked by violence and manipulation, she can do nothing to stop the union—or the couple’s slow descent into a miserable pattern of abuse, deception, and cruelty. The Westovers refuse to defend Emily in the face of Shawn’s physical and emotional violence, nor do they look out for Emily’s health in the face of two complicated and dangerous births.
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Emily Westover Character Timeline in Educated
The timeline below shows where the character Emily Westover appears in Educated. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 23: I’m From Idaho
...Dad is busy with work and Shawn is busy with a new “compliant” girlfriend named Emily, who is ten years younger than him.
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Chapter 26: Waiting for the Moving Water
Shawn and Emily get engaged, and to celebrate, Tara goes with them on a long horse ride to...
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In September, Tara returns to Buck’s Peak for Shawn and Emily’s wedding. The event makes Tara upset and anxious, and she vomits in the church bathroom...
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Chapter 27: If I Were a Woman
When Tara returns home to Buck’s Peak for Christmas, she learns that Emily is in the midst of a very difficult pregnancy. She is having contractions at only...
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In February, Emily gives birth. Though she is only twenty-six weeks along, Mother insists it is “God’s will”...
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Chapter 30: Hand of the Almighty
...cold spell,” Tara is sitting in the living room with Mother, Dad, Kami, and Richard. Emily flies into the room through the back door—she has no coat or shoes despite the...
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As Tara watches her family tend to Emily, only Kami looks anxious and confused—Tara “resent[s]” Kami, an outsider, for bearing witness to her...
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