Natalie Heller Mills is the protagonist and unreliable narrator of Yesteryear. A static and round character, she embodies the central theme of The Distance Between Online Identity and Lived Reality. As the creator of the wildly popular “Yesteryear Ranch” social media brand, Natalie curates a persona of a “flawless Christian woman” (4), a perfect wife and mother living a traditional, pastoral life. However, her internal monologues reveal a sharp, cynical, and calculating intelligence that stands in stark contrast to her public image. She views her followers as “five million tiny fish” (8) and meticulously stages every aspect of her life, employing nannies and a producer to maintain the illusion of effortless domesticity. Her motivation stems from a deep-seated need for control and validation, a reaction against the secular feminism she encountered in college, which she perceived as a source of misery and chaos. This desire for an ordered, traditional life drives her to construct a reality that is as much a prison as it is a brand.

Natalie’s defining trait is her performative nature. She thrives on the sense that she is constantly being watched by an abstract