Charlie Marie Karr
Last Updated August 28, 2024.
Charlie Marie Karr is the mother of Mary. She has been married seven times, including twice to Pete Karr. Her fourth marriage, to an Italian sea captain named Paulo, first brought her to Leechfield, Texas, where she later met and married Pete Karr.
Unlike her husband, Charlie Marie is well-educated and intellectually curious. She dedicates much of her time to reading on diverse subjects such as Russian history and French existentialism. She is also an artist who studied art in New York's Greenwich Village and has her own studio in their home. Additionally, she enjoys listening to opera.
Initially, Charlie Marie's marriage to Pete Karr is happy, but they soon begin to argue frequently. She deeply regrets leaving New York for the desolate landscape of eastern Texas and often threatens divorce. Following her mother's death, Charlie Marie starts drinking, which adversely affects her already volatile temperament. In Texan parlance, she is considered "nervous," a term that encompasses a broad range of mental issues. The conflicts with her husband escalate, culminating in a mental breakdown. She breaks mirrors and light bulbs, burns the children's clothes and furniture, and even threatens them with a knife. Consequently, she is hospitalized for a month in a mental health facility.
After the family relocates to Colorado, Charlie Marie's mental health does not improve. She drinks excessively and becomes dependent on diet pills. She spends much of her time in bed, too depressed to get up. When she and Pete agree to divorce, the children choose to stay with their mother, fearing she would get into serious trouble if left alone, while believing Pete could manage by himself. After Pete leaves, Charlie Marie marries Hector, but this marriage is also unhappy. When Charlie Marie nearly shoots Hector, Mary and Lecia decide to return to live with their father. However, it isn't long before Charlie Marie leaves Hector and goes back to Texas, eventually remarrying Pete.
At the end of the book, it is revealed that Charlie Marie's ongoing mental instability stems from the loss of her two children, Tex and Belinda, from her first marriage. Her husband took them away when he left her, and she saw them only once more.
Mary Karr
Last Updated August 28, 2024.
Mary Karr serves as the memoir's narrator. She is a resourceful girl who has inherited her father's assertive nature and her mother's intelligence. Unlike her blonde sister, she has dark hair and resembles her father with a vaguely Native American appearance. As a child, she idolizes her father and is captivated by his storytelling at the Liars' Club, where she is allowed to join. The frequent arguments between her parents inevitably affect her, leading Mary and her sister Lecia to dream about escaping to places like a beach shack or the restroom of a convenience store.
Mary's life is marked by numerous traumatic events. At the age of seven, she is raped by an older boy in the neighborhood but keeps it a secret out of fear. By the time she is nine, while living in Colorado, she is sexually abused by a babysitter. Additionally, she witnesses her parents' incessant fighting, her mother's mental breakdown during which her mother threatens her and Lecia with a knife, and another incident where her mother threatens Hector with a gun, prompting Mary and Lecia to protect him by throwing themselves across him.
Given her tumultuous family environment, it is not surprising that Mary learns to fend for herself physically. Naturally feisty, she earns a reputation as the worst girl in the neighborhood. This notoriety is cemented when she shoots a BB gun at a boy named Ricky Carter,...
(This entire section contains 338 words.)
See This Study Guide Now
Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this study guide. You'll also get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.
Already a member? Log in here.
hitting him in the neck. She has picked up cursing from her parents, and when challenged by Ricky's father, she boldly retorts, "Eat me raw, mister." Mary frequently engages in fights with neighborhood kids, and although she is small and never wins, she refuses to back down, taking pride in her ability to withstand beatings.
Despite the numerous traumas endured within her dysfunctional family, Mary still feels a sense of love from her parents and reciprocates that affection. She demonstrates her love by caring for her father after he suffers a stroke and by forgiving her mother for the wrongs committed against her.
Pete Karr
Last Updated August 28, 2024.
Pete Karr, Mary's father, is a World War II veteran and a striking man with black hair and Native-American heritage. He works at the oil refinery and has an impeccable attendance record, never missing a day in forty-two years despite his heavy drinking. Pete is renowned for his storytelling skills, captivating his friends at the Liars' Club with vivid, albeit mostly fictional, tales from his youth. Known for his contentious nature, he is quick to start fights and always emerges victorious. He affectionately calls Mary "Pokey" and even teaches her fighting techniques, encouraging her to bite her opponents. While he has a warm relationship with his children and enjoys spoiling them, he is also frugal and dislikes wasting money. He meticulously maintains financial records and has a deep distrust of banks.
When Grandma Moore moves in with the family, Pete avoids the house as much as possible. During a strike at his workplace, he is often absent, spending time at the union hall awaiting updates. During these times, Mary sees little of her father. Despite his genuine love for Charlie Marie, they frequently argue. Following their divorce, Pete returns to Texas and makes minimal effort to stay in contact with his daughters. However, he is thrilled to see them when they visit and is eager for Charlie Marie to rejoin the family.
In 1980, seven years after retiring at sixty-three, Pete suffers a stroke. The stroke leaves him unable to speak coherently, and he is cared for by Charlie Marie and Mary.
Other Characters
Last Updated August 28, 2024.
Ben Bederman
Ben Bederman is a dedicated member of the Liars' Club. He listens intently to
Pete Karr's tales and is often the first to ask questions. After Pete suffers a
stroke, Ben visits him in the hospital and is deeply troubled by Pete's
condition. He spends hours almost every night sitting outside Pete's hospital
room.
Cooter
Cooter is another member of the Liars' Club. He frequently teases Shug and
reprimands him, largely because Shug's race bothers him.
Daddy
See Pete Karr.
Hector
Hector is a Mexican bartender who marries Mary's mother while they are living
in Colorado. Mary and Lecia dislike him and refuse to accept him as their
stepfather. Hector is unemployed, and the couple relies on Charlie Marie's
money. The marriage is unsuccessful; Hector is often drunk, and Charlie Marie
criticizes him harshly. At one point, she even threatens him with a gun while
he cowers and tells her to shoot because he feels his life is worthless. When
Hector accompanies Charlie Marie to Texas to retrieve some of her belongings,
Pete overhears Hector making a derogatory comment to Charlie Marie. Pete drags
Hector from his car, punches him to the ground, and repeatedly hits him in the
face before kicking him and breaking one of his ribs. Charlie Marie takes
Hector to the emergency room and leaves him there, then returns to live in
Texas.
Lecia Karr
Lecia Karr, two years older than her sister Mary, is tough and often gets into
fights, most of which she wins, even against boys several years her senior. She
and Mary have a contentious relationship, and Lecia once beat Mary in a fight.
As the older sibling, Lecia frequently bosses Mary around and makes decisions
for both of them. For instance, she decides they will stay with their mother in
Colorado instead of returning to Texas with their father. Lecia's role in the
family is to be the competent one, while Mary is seen as the cute one. Often,
even at the age of ten or eleven, Lecia is more competent than her mother. For
example, she knows to put her mother to bed when she has a crying fit after
listening to opera music.
Lecia is also resourceful. Within two days of being viciously attacked by a man-of-war at the beach, she starts charging neighborhood kids to see or touch her blisters. Mary's reaction when the man-of-war wrapped its tentacles around Lecia’s leg reveals much about their tumultuous relationship: despite often wishing for Lecia to die, Mary prayed for her sister to live in that moment.
Grandma Moore
Grandma Moore is Mary's maternal grandmother. She is a domineering and critical
woman who disapproves of Mary's marriage to Pete. When Grandma Moore is
diagnosed with cancer, she moves in with the Karr family, causing Pete to often
be absent. She quickly attempts to enforce her own strict rules on the
household. For instance, she insists that Mary and Lecia read the Bible daily
and never shows any affection toward Mary. Instead, she is a strict
disciplinarian, urging Charlie Marie to spank Mary and even crafting a leather
whip for this purpose. Additionally, Grandma Moore is eccentric, carrying a
hacksaw in a black doctor's bag.
As her cancer progresses, Grandma Moore's leg is amputated above the knee, and she starts using a prosthetic leg. The cancer eventually spreads to her brain, making her even more irritable. Mary feels no sorrow when she passes away. In her will, Grandma Moore leaves Charlie Marie a significant sum of money.
Mother
See Charlie Marie Karr.
Shug
Shug is a member of the Liars' Club. He is the only black man Mary ever sees at
the American Legion, attending only when the Liars' Club meets. He is openly
skeptical when Pete Karr's stories become too far-fetched. Occasionally, he and
Cooter have antagonistic interactions.