Sara Smolinsky is the novel’s protagonist. The novel follows her throughout her life, starting when she is ten years old and ending when she is in her late twenties. She is an emotional, smart, strong-willed woman. Sara grows up in a strict, Jewish home but eventually leaves behind this traditional belief system for a modern lifestyle. Sara’s internal development stems from her desire to individuate herself from her family and pursue education and a career rather than a husband.

Sara’s relationship with Reb Smolinsky affects her decisions throughout her life. As the youngest daughter, Sara notices the ways that her sisters suffer in the household under their father’s misogyny. Although Sara looks up to her father as a child, she soon realizes that Reb Smolinsky’s pride makes the entire family suffer. Although her sister’s marriages influence the way Sara perceives her father, the tension in their relationship reaches a climax after Reb Smolinsky buys the grocery store. When Sara sees how her father refuses to take responsibility for his mistakes and even blames Shenah for her lack of faith in God, Sara realizes how Reb Smolinsky uses religion to control everyone around him. This hypocrisy motivates Sara to leave her parents and live apart from them.