Rosemary Character Analysis

When David Henry returns to his childhood home in West Virginia—a property to which he still holds the deed—he discovers sixteen-year-old Rosemary squatting there. Pregnant, abandoned by her boyfriend, and disowned by her family, Rosemary has nowhere to go, so David makes the impulsive decision to bring her back to Kentucky with him. Norah rejects the idea of having Rosemary in the house, prompting a split in their family; David moves out of the house to live with Rosemary, and for years they share a platonic friendship. Rosemary, who is the same age as Paul—and Phoebe—represents, to David, a chance at redemption. If he cares for Rosemary, he believes, he’ll be doing some sort of penance for his failure of Phoebe. Ultimately, after giving birth to her son Jack and graduating from school, Rosemary decides to marry her new boyfriend and move home to Harrisburg, where her family, having forgiven her for the delinquency of her youth, is ready to welcome her back. Rosemary is headstrong and stubbornly self-sufficient, though she softens through the years as she makes a home and a family with David.