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Quotes
The Girl
The girl is Dan and Mary’s daughter and the book’s protagonist. When Mary is preparing to give birth, Dan brings the girl to stay with John and Edna Kinsella, who become foster parents to…
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Edna Kinsella
Edna is John’s wife. She and John take care of the girl for a summer while the girl’s mother, Mary, is preparing to give birth. The novel portrays Edna as deeply caring, compassionate…
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John Kinsella
John is Edna’s husband, and the two take care of the girl for a summer while the girl’s mother, Mary, is preparing to give birth. The novel portrays John as a kind and…
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Dan
Dan is the girl’s father and Mary’s husband. He is the novel’s primary antagonist and is portrayed as absent-minded and neglectful. The book suggests that Dan’s drinking and gambling may be at least…
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Mary
Mary is the girl’s mother and Dan’s wife. Dan and Mary send the girl to John and Edna’s house when Mary is close to giving birth, ostensibly to ease the financial strain…
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Minor Characters
Mildred
Mildred is John and Edna’s neighbor who unceremoniously tells the girl that John and Edna had a son who died after he drowned in a slurry pit (a pool of liquid and animal waste on farms that gradually turns into fertilizer).
