Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

Gail is the novel’s narrator and protagonist. She is characterized initially through The Impact of Personal Crises on Self-Perception: She learns that she is about to lose her job. Furthermore, her supervisor explains to her that it is, in part, because of her lack of tact. Having never thought of herself as tactless before, Gail is stunned. She ruminates on the idea that she might be tactless throughout much of the novel, and this self-reflection becomes a key aspect of her characterization. Gail does admit to herself that she is judgmental; much of her inner monologue is dedicated to criticizing the people around her. Yet Gail also perceives herself as tactful because she refrains from actually saying much of what she thinks. On more than one occasion, she makes an uncharitable observation about someone and then mentally pats herself on the back for not uttering her observance out loud.

Gail’s judgmental nature is only part of what isolates her as a person. She is introverted and does not meet many people whom she wants to spend time with or with whom she shares interests, passions, or beliefs.