Piglet

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of disordered eating.

Piglet is the eponymous protagonist of the novel. Although Hazell never provides a physical description of Piglet, her experiences, thoughts, and feelings are centered throughout the novel. In the final pages, it is revealed that her real name is Pippa. Piglet is characterized by her intense struggles with Body Image and the Pressure to Be Thin and her obsession with how others perceive her. Piglet’s body-image issues stem from her childhood, when she was frequently compared to her younger sister, Franny. As a child, Piglet “would look at her sister—shorter, smaller—and feel ashamed at the sight of her own skin” (65). Because of these constant comparisons, Piglet “always felt bigger than should be allowed” (39). In these passages, the use of comparative words like “shorter,” “smaller,” and “bigger” demonstrate that Piglet’s body-image issues result from comparison with others, especially her sister. These images intensify in the weeks before her marriage as she feels pressure to lose weight before the wedding. The passages describing her efforts to exercise emphasize her keen awareness of her body. As she jumps and lunges, “she fe[els] the echo of her own flesh, reverberating as she move[s]” (33). The use of the words “echo” and “reverberating” in this passage suggests that Piglet’s awareness of her body extends beyond physical sensations: She imagines that the fat on her legs makes a noise that others can hear. Piglet’s body-image issues are a major obstacle to her happiness throughout the novel.

Another obstacle to Piglet’s happiness is her fixation on how others perceive her, which manifests in The Pressure to Build a Perfect Life that she applies to herself. In the first half of the novel, Piglet organizes her life and behavior to make the best possible impression and frequently imagines herself as others see her. When her friends compliment her hosting skills after a dinner party, Piglet pictures herself “receiving the praise with grace […] the corners of her lips upturned, her eyes cast down” (12). Later, while preparing freezer meals for her pregnant friend Margot, Piglet “[savours] the half light of the kitchen and the image of her body within it, preparing to labour while everyone else [i]s asleep” (22). In these passages, Piglet imagines herself as the perfect housewife: The reference to downcast eyes suggests her humility, while her solitary labor in the kitchen demonstrates her industriousness. Piglet’s desire to be perceived as the perfect housewife reaches its fullest expression when her parents and sister visit her new home for the first time. Piglet is ecstatic at the thought that “they w[ill] be arriving soon to witness her handiwork, her house, her husband-to-be” (58). The use of the word “witness” in this passage reflects Piglet’s desire to be perceived as perfect by others, while the alliteration of the words “handiwork,” “house,” and “husband-to-be” demonstrates the intensity of this desire.

As the novel progresses, Piglet comes to realize that organizing her life based on the perceptions of others has made her deeply unhappy. The revelation of Kit’s betrayal shows Piglet that “she had built a life that relied on the mirrors of others […] she had carefully crafted her personhood on a lie” (281). As the wedding nears, Piglet grows increasingly horrified by “the fallacy of their bliss, the superficiality and shallowness of it all” (281). In these passages, the use of the words “lie,” “fallacy,” “superficiality,” and “shallowness” suggests that by focusing on how others perceived her life with Kit, she failed to build a meaningful life. She ultimately concludes that she and Kit “had made their vows on the pursuit of living a life that looked good rather than felt good” (282). The novel’s ending suggests that Piglet has surrendered her need to be perceived by others as the perfect wife in favor of building a life based on the things that make her truly happy.