Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up… in simpler times. She fell in love with Alfred quickly and married him when they were still quite young. They proceeded to have three children and start a nice little family in the Midwestern town of St. Jude, with Alfred working for a railroad company and Enid taking care of the kids.
Living… in St. Jude, the home where she raised their kids. Except now she’s in her 70s and spends most of her time arguing with Alfred, who is rapidly losing his body and mind to Parkinson’s. When she isn’t worrying about him, she’s worrying about her children, now adults living on the East Coast but making worse decisions than ever.
Profession… housewife. She spends a lot of time just cutting coupons. But nowadays she has a nearly fulltime job taking care of Alfred. Driving him to doctor appointments, making sure he eats his meals. Life is getting harder, and no one’s here to help.
Interests… nagging, saving money. Above all else, Enid likes to cut corners financially. She even complains about making phone calls because of the extra dime it costs to stay on the line. She’s also quite interested in her children’s lives, although they all find her prying insufferable.
Relationship Status… married to Alfred. Their love life has diminished into nonexistence. She remembers the times when they were still having sex, but can’t imagine a future where that’s possible. Those days are long gone. The closest she gets to Alfred now is to help him change his clothes.
Challenge… uniting the family for “one last Christmas” in St. Jude. As someone who’s obsessed with Christmas, Enid’s one goal in life is to bring her three children home for the holiday before Alfred is too far gone. She will stop at nothing. It is her one raison d'être.
Personality… loyal but deluded. In some ways, Enid is a ridiculous person. She hardly ever listens to criticism, and continues to repeat falsities about her children to make them sound better. She hears what she wants to hear. She worries all the time about her hopeless future, and the possibility of her children going down a similar path.
Get to Know her in...
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After almost fifty years as a wife and mother, Enid Lambert is ready to have some fun. Unfortunately, her husband, Alfred, is losing his sanity to Parkinson's disease, and their children have long since flown the family nest to the catastrophes of their own lives. The oldest, Gary, a once-stable portfolio manager and family man, is trying to convince his wife and himself, despite clear signs to the contrary, that he is not clinically depressed. The middle child, Chip, has lost his seemingly secure academic job and is failing spectacularly at his new line of work. And Denise, the youngest, has escaped a disastrous marriage only to pour her youth and beauty down the drain of an affair with a married man-or so her mother fears. Desperate for some pleasure to look forward to, Enid has set her heart on an elusive goal: bringing her family together for one last Christmas at home.
