The child of Troy and Alberta, Raynell is ultimately raised by Rose after both Troy and Alberta die. In this way, Raynell challenges the “fences” that Rose envisions as surrounding, protecting, and holding together her real family. At one point in the play, Rose tells Troy, upon learning of Raynell’s impending birth, that she’s never wanted anything “half” to enter her family. Raynell’s appearance in the world therefore stretches Rose’s ideal sense of a family unified by parental, biological blood, and Rose’s decision to raise her marks a broadening of her conception of what a family can be and how far her love can stretch.