Willodeen

Willodeen is the titular protagonist and the novel’s point-of-view character. Willodeen has social anxiety and feels most comfortable in the woods “like an animal that belonged there” (17). Crowds make her nervous, and she dislikes drawing attention to herself, preferring to remain away from the village and out of sight. Her reactions in village meetings show her progression in dealing with her anxiety. At the initial meeting she attends, she is nervous and is only able to speak when anger motivates her to do so. At the later meeting, she is still nervous but has something important to say and is prepared, things that give her confidence. Willodeen also grows to like the company of others. At the book’s beginning, memories of the fire and the fear of losing people again make her aloof. As the story progresses and she survives a second fire with her loved ones intact, she realizes that it’s all right to keep people close.

Willodeen also struggles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In the years since the fire that took her family, she has nightmares about fire and is always on alert for the smell of smoke in the air.