Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Living… in New York in 1952. Therese has a modest Manhattan walk-up apartment that’s so small that she brushes her teeth in the kitchen. But, it’s her space and she’s happy in it.
Profession… shop girl at Frankenberg’s department store. It’s Christmastime and so the store is especially busy with all kinds of interesting people buying presents. Really, Therese wants to be a professional photographer, but she just needs to build up the confidence to pursue that goal.
Interests… taking photos and playing the piano. Therese goes to bars and parties with her friends, but even in a group she’s usually pretty quiet.
Relationship Status… dating a man named Richard, but not happy with him. He wants to marry her, but something about it doesn’t feel right to Therese. A beautiful woman named Carol left her gloves at Frankenberg’s, and ever since then Therese can’t stop thinking about her…
Challenge… figuring out who she is and what she wants. She’s spent her life letting other people guide her along, and she wants to take control now. But, it’s hard learning to discern what her desires actually are after such a long time of saying yes to everything.
Personality… quiet, introspective, and ethereal. Therese has always had a gentle demeanor, but that is breaking through to show the integrity of spirit and strength she has underneath. Therese is learning how to take charge of her life in small, but powerful, ways.
Get to Know her in...
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In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
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A great American writer…Highsmith's writing is wicked…it puts a spell on you." —Entertainment Weekly Patricia Highsmith's story of romantic obsession may be one of the most important, but still largely unrecognized, novels of the twentieth century. First published in 1952 and touted as "the novel of a love that society forbids," the book soon became a cult classic. Based on a true story plucked from Highsmith's own life, Carol tells the riveting drama of Therese Belivet, a stage designer trapped in a department-store day job, whose routine is forever shattered by a gorgeous epiphany—the appearance of Carol Aird, a customer who comes in to buy her daughter a Christmas toy. Therese begins to gravitate toward the alluring suburban housewife, who is trapped in a marriage as stultifying as Therese's job. They fall in love and set out across the United States, ensnared by society's confines and the imminent disapproval of others, yet propelled by their infatuation. Carol is a brilliantly written story that may surprise Highsmith fans and will delight those discovering her work. Now a major motion picture
