Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Carmen Lowell’s narration bookends the novel. She is the one to introduce her four friends and the traveling pants in Chapter 1, communicating the importance of their bond to the reader. Carmen self-identifies as “the one who cares the most” (10) about keeping her friends together. She recognizes the rarity of their bond and is devoted to maintaining it even when they are apart. Though Carmen fits each of her friends neatly into archetypes, she struggles to find where she fits in. She is half Puerto Rican, and her darker skin tone and curvier figure make her stand out from her friends. Carmen’s parents are divorced. She lives with her mother in Bethesda but covets her limited time with her father, whose approval and love she craves.

Carmen’s coming-of-age journey involves learning to communicate her needs and emotions maturely. Her character is perhaps the most prominent embodiment of the theme The Complexity of Familial Relationships. Unlike the other characters, her primary conflict revolves around family. Her fear of not fitting in is realized when her father surprises her with the news of his engagement. Carmen instantly feels out of place next to her thin, blonde stepmother and stepsiblings.