Piglet

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of disordered eating.

Piglet is the eponymous protagonist of the novel. Although Hazell never provides a physical description of Piglet, her experiences, thoughts, and feelings are centered throughout the novel. In the final pages, it is revealed that her real name is Pippa. Piglet is characterized by her intense struggles with Body Image and the Pressure to Be Thin and her obsession with how others perceive her. Piglet’s body-image issues stem from her childhood, when she was frequently compared to her younger sister, Franny. As a child, Piglet “would look at her sister—shorter, smaller—and feel ashamed at the sight of her own skin” (65). Because of these constant comparisons, Piglet “always felt bigger than should be allowed” (39). In these passages, the use of comparative words like “shorter,” “smaller,” and “bigger” demonstrate that Piglet’s body-image issues result from comparison with others, especially her sister. These images intensify in the weeks before her marriage as she feels pressure to lose weight before the wedding. The passages describing her efforts to exercise emphasize her keen awareness of her body. As she jumps and lunges, “she fe[els] the echo of her own flesh, reverberating as she move[s]” (33).