Dark Roots

by

Cate Kennedy

Helen Character Analysis

Helen is a friend of the protagonist and Sandy. She is roughly the same age as the protagonist. She points out that if the protagonist and Paul’s 13-year age group were reversed, “nobody would turn a hair.” She also gently jokes about the age of her friend group. Her use of self-deprecating humor in this moment shows a model of dealing with anxiety about aging that contrasts with the protagonist’s avoidant and dishonest approach.

Helen Quotes in Dark Roots

The Dark Roots quotes below are all either spoken by Helen or refer to Helen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Ageism and Misogyny Theme Icon
).
Dark Roots Quotes

“If he were thirty-nine and you were thirteen years younger nobody would turn a hair. I say go for it.”

Related Characters: Helen (speaker), Protagonist, Paul
Page Number: 78
Explanation and Analysis:
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