Content Warning: This section of the guide references family trauma and grief, child abuse, domestic violence, and suicidal ideation.

Alice is the story’s protagonist. Throughout the novel, she grows from a shy, vigilant, and fearful girl into an independent and creative woman who knows her worth. She’s thoughtful, studious, emotional, and artistic. More than any other character, Alice develops The Long Process of Overcoming Trauma and Grief due to the hardships she endures, including abuse, the loss of most of her family, and the guilt she bears due to mistakenly believing much of her misfortune is her fault.

As a child, Alice lives in fear of her father’s abuse, so she’s shown as timid and careful, trying to appease Clem so that he doesn’t attack her or Agnes. Her childhood terror is shown in her unease around Clem, her protectiveness over Agnes and Toby, and her desire to set Clem on fire to make him better, like a phoenix. Alice’s mistake with the lantern throws her life into disarray, a guilt and loss she takes years to process and let go of, as the beginning chapter details: “Alice would always remember this day as the one that changed her life irrevocably, even though it would take her the next twenty years to understand” (10).