Louise is a young woman growing up in Louisiana who faces immense pressure to remain thin. Forced onto a restrictive diet by her mother at age nine, she begins secretly hoarding and eating candy bars and peanut butter sandwiches. She harbors deep insecurities about her body and struggles to form authentic connections, choosing instead to hide her true habits. She eventually attends an all-girls' college in Massachusetts and marries a young lawyer, constantly bending to the physical expectations of those around her.

Louise's mother is a slim, emotionally distant woman who strictly controls her daughter's diet. She eats scant portions and claims to have a slow metabolism, smoking heavily to maintain her figure. Believing that a woman's primary value lies in attracting men, she projects these societal pressures directly onto her daughter while affording her son complete dietary freedom.

Carrie is an attractive, slim student who shares a deep bond with Louise during their four years of college. Though she genuinely cares for her friend, Carrie adopts a highly controlling approach to Louise's life. She takes charge of preparing all her meals and purchases a scale to record her daily weigh-ins, hoping to force Louise into societal standards of beauty.

Richard is a professionally ambitious attorney with a naturally fast metabolism that allows him to consume large quantities of unhealthy food without gaining weight. He enters a relationship with Louise while she is thin and adheres to strict physical ideals. He places immense value on physical appearance and holds superficial expectations regarding his wife's lifestyle.

Louise's father is a successful lawyer and a kind, supportive presence in his daughter's life. Unlike his wife, he openly provides physical affection and verbal praise. He attempts to intervene when Louise is young by requesting she receive adequate meals, showing more concern for her immediate comfort than her future romantic prospects.

Joan is a high school peer who forms a casual social bond with Louise. She is privately self-conscious about her face, believing herself to be plain, and views dating largely as a source of external validation. Following graduation, she focuses her attention on romance and loses contact with her high school circle.

Marjorie is a slim classmate who maintains a superficial friendship with Louise during their teenage years. She worries privately about her intellectual abilities and eagerly pursues romantic relationships, drifting away entirely once high school concludes.

Louise's unnamed brother grows up in the same Louisiana household but experiences a vastly different upbringing. Free from maternal scrutiny due to his gender, he eats freely without reprimand, experiencing the casual childhood freedoms denied entirely to his sister.