Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge, the protagonist and title character of Olive, Again is an elderly woman who is both praised and hated by different characters for her directness and honesty. She worked as a math teacher for many years, and is thus familiar with most residents of Crosby. Accordingly, she appears in nearly all chapters of the book. In several chapters she is the main focus, but often she plays a supporting role, acting as a minor force or voice of reason to other characters. Multiple characters reference meaningful life lessons she taught them during her math classes, for example her assertion that, “You all know who you are. If you just look at yourself and listen to yourself, you know exactly who you are. And don’t forget it,” which Lisa MacPherson cites as one of the things that guided her to her unorthodox career as a dominatrix...