The novel is peopled with sympathetic characters, with two exceptions: Julie's high school love, Brett Kingman, whose attention to Julie is prompted by her willingness to write his English themes, and Julie's selfish, spoiled childhood friend, Carlotta Berry, who becomes pregnant by Brett. But, as Julie notes, the flaws Brett and Carlotta exhibit are largely traceable to poor parental guidance.

Aunt Cordelia leads a thoroughly proper, refined, self-disciplined life, which she devotes entirely to the welfare of others—her mother and aunts, her students, and Julie. As Julie matures, she learns that her aunt's proper demeanor and strict rules are not signs of coldness. Instead, they are Cordelia's method for coping with a life that does not allow for close friendships and, in her own words, "completeness in love."

Beneath Cordelia's firm, unyielding exterior is a warm, sensitive, and loving person. As Julie develops her...