Hayley Gillespie

“I was hoping Mary’s soul would fly out the window now, and not stay inside, whispering things into my ear. But I wondered whether I was too late,” (179). 

Mary Whitney obviously has a huge influence on Grace. So much so, that it seems that Grace is obsessed with her. This being because she has never felt appreciated or truly happy except when she met Mary. Letting Mary’s soul out was perhaps Grace wanting Mary’s soul to go somewhere else. Later when Grace meets Nancy, she sees Mary in her. Grace may think the soul of Mary is in Nancy when she first talks to her, but the disappointment in the realization that this is not true helps fuel her anger. Grace feels betrayed by the similarities in the two, but the differences as well.