A Question of Power

Elizabeth is the main character and the protagonist. The story centers on her as she embarks on her hellish journey. The story isn’t in Elizabeth’s voice but is narrated by a third-person subjective narrator who has access to Elizabeth’s interiority.

Elizabeth has enough questionable traits and opinions to be considered an antihero. She doesn’t always act just and honorably. By prioritizing the spiritual quest over her mental health, she puts herself and her son in danger. After hitting Mrs. Jones, she thinks, “I’ll kill him first, then I’ll kill myself” (174). She holds anti-gay views, and she compares the Black Panthers to Nazis, though the former fought for a historically oppressed group and didn’t kill millions of people by launching a world war and multiple genocides.

Singularity is central to Elizabeth’s character. Her behavior and views are unorthodox, and so is she. Tom asks her, “Why do you have to go opposite to everyone else? Why do you have to sound different?” (133). She’s willful and self-reliant, and she doesn’t need approval from others. She tells Eugene, “I don’t care whether people like me or not. I am used to isolation” (56).