Character Analysis
The most complex of all the novel's minor characters, and the only other person who shares significant personality traits with Joanna and her three alter-egos, Laura Rose Wilding is a quiet rebel in a sleepy all-American town. A bit like Betty Cooper would be if Betty read Friedrich Engels and Sigmund Freud, Laura seems older and wiser than her seventeen years, though she's got her fair share of teenage angst to deal with, too.
Laura likes to dress in too-big pants and shirts that hide her figure, and she hates being told that being a woman in a man's world is worth it for the pretty clothes. Reading Freud has made her think that she has penis envy, but really, all Laura wants is R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Guys her age either shy away from her or tell her they're sure she must really be sweet and soft underneath that toughnut exterior. Frankly, Laura is sick of it:
There was a very nice boy once who said, "Don't worry, Laura. I know you're really very sweet and gentle underneath." And another with, "You're strong, like an earth mother." And a third, "You're so beautiful when you're angry." My guts on the floor, you're so beautiful when you're angry. I want to be recognized. (4.11.8)
When Laura meets Janet, something finally starts to click, but it takes a long time before she can sort through the conflicting emotions she feels inside. At first she insists that she could never sleep with a woman, and says that it would be abnormal. When she finally does reveal her attraction to Janet, she's terrified. In her world, lesbianism is treated as a disease, or as the future outcome of a dangerous lifestyle (i.e., one where women don't work hard enough to make themselves attractive to men).
As Laura begins to explore her sexuality, she blossoms as she never has before. Gone are the oversized trousers and shirts; suddenly, she's wearing denim jeans and jackets with colorful flowers embroidered all over them. When the novel comes to a close, she and Janet have gone off together, and where'll they'll go next, we don't know. What's clear is that Laura is going to be A-Okay. Whether or not Janet stays, Laura has finally learned that she's not alone.