Helene Character Analysis

Helene is Chase and Johnny’s four-year-old half-sister, daughter of Frank and Frank’s second wife, Corinne. When the novel begins, Helene fears Chase, who bullied her by tearing the head off her beloved teddy bear and making her cry. Post-accident, amnesiac Chase feels uneasy and guilty about scaring Helene; he tries to befriend her by playing dolls and princess with her, something that his rigidly macho pre-accident self would never have done. At first, Frank criticizes Chase’s willingness to engage in girly activities with Helene; due to Frank’s rigid ideas about traditional masculinity, he believes Chase is wasting time and losing toughness by indulging his little half-sister. Eventually, however, both Frank and Corinne come to appreciate Chase’s attempts to treat Helene better.