What role do you think the woman Billie meets at the Garden of Eden plays in the story? As off-putting as she is, why do you think Billie is drawn to her?
Th.is is an interesting questions. Charlotte feels symbolic—almost like a distorted mirror of Billie’s own internal chaos. Billie may be drawn to her because she represents something raw and unfiltered, something Billie both fears and recognizes
Charlotte appears to provide Billie with a means to cope with her own thoughts. “What would Charlotte do, say or want”? The author invented this character to enter Billie’s mind when she needed to express or consider intense emotions and situations. Billie gave her inner voice the Charlotte persona at times, and at other times Billie squelched Charlotte. In this respect, Charlotte was a psychological tool.