Character List and Analysis
Bonnie Clutter
Wife of Herbert, mother of four, and bedridden with severe depression since the birth of her youngest, Bonnie is fragile, affectionate, and deeply ashamed of her condition. She is always cold, even in the summer, and her room is always heated. She collects miniature things and once studied to become a nurse. In the opening of the book, she has recently been given a sliver of hope for recovery by a doctor who suggested her condition may be the result of a "pinched nerve."