The Life She Was Given

Lilly is one of the two protagonists of the novel. A young woman with albinism whose family sells her to a circus in the 1930s, Lilly is the crux of the Blackwood family’s secrets. Her ability to endure and overcome obstacles exemplifies Resilience in the Face of Societal Stigma and Adversity. Initially characterized primarily by her physical characteristics, Lilly acquires strength of spirit, courage, and resilience through her discovered connection to animals and motherhood. A dynamic character, Lilly changes from a terrified survivor to a woman with agency and strongly held values that she acts on.

Lilly’s albinism makes her religious parents ostracize and imprison her but also allows her to fit in at the circus. As a child, Lilly internalizes her parents’ demeaning view of her: “Momma said Lilly couldn’t eat with her and Daddy because seeing her across the dinner table would make them lose their appetites” (27). However, at the circus, Lilly can see that people with physical differences are not the monsters her parents have made them out to be: Glory tells her she’s “perfect, like a life-sized porcelain doll” (59). Lilly learns that there is more to her than her condition and that she deserves love and acceptance for who she is with her albinism.