Annie John

Annie is the protagonist and narrator, who looks back on her life in Antigua and chronicles her experiences from age 10 to age 17. As she describes how her younger self changes from feeling like she lives in paradise to feeling very much like the Biblical Lucifer, Annie indirectly characterizes her growing self as typical in many ways. For the first decade of her life, she feels closest to her mother and cannot conceive of life without her; because her mother’s world seems to revolve around her, it does not occur to Annie that the rest of the world will be different. The antagonism that Annie feels toward her mother begins when the girl reaches puberty, at which point her mother begins to provide Annie with overt and sometimes harsh lessons on how to be a proper young lady in their society. In addition to cooking, cleaning, and one day caring for a husband, Annie is expected to maintain a strict moral code and demonstrate suitable conduct. This expectation is enshrined in her parents’ decision to give her the middle name “Victoria,” after the late British queen who was famous for her strident morality and loyalty to her husband.