Content Warning: The novel and the guide reference infertility, miscarriage, suicide, and infant death.

Isabella is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. The plot follows her growth and development over most of her life, from the time when she is a young bride up until her death in 1924. Isabella is a well-educated and privileged woman who grows up in an affluent family, marries a rich man and eventually inherits significant wealth from her father. She is very cosmopolitan and is often happiest when traveling, especially to Italy. In general, Isabella is stimulated by growth, learning, and new experiences.

As a young woman, Isabella often feels adrift and lonely; she has a keen longing for a purpose to animate her life and also craves community. Isabella’s primary conflict as a character revolves around her search for purpose and belonging. Initially, she believes that becoming a mother will resolve this conflict, but pregnancy and birth do not fully satisfy her.

Isabella returns to feeling adrift after she suffers a series of tragic losses and learns that she will not be able to have biological children. As she develops as a character, Isabella repeatedly confronts losses and abrupt transitions: She becomes the guardian to her young nephews; her romantic relationship with Crawford ends suddenly; her eldest nephew dies by suicide; and Jack eventually dies, leaving her to live the final decades of her life as a widow.