Content Warning: This section discusses racism.

Marilyn is the protagonist and narrator of Don’t Forget to Write. At 20, Marilyn yearns for the freedom to live her life on her own terms. She does not want to marry young and stay home to raise her children with no thought of a career. From the outset of the novel, she critiques the rigid gender expectations placed on her and other women in 1960, to the chagrin of her parents and other members of her community who value more traditional values.

Meeting Ada is a huge catalyst for change in Marilyn’s life. Although she thinks that being sent to live with her great-aunt for the summer is a harsh punishment for her indiscretion with Daniel, Ada helps Marilyn see a vision of her future that she never imagined by herself and contributes to her character development. Marilyn has always known that she would “much rather rescue [herself]” than rely on a man to rescue her (16), but this feeling is vague and amorphous at first. Marilyn has no role models for Living a Nontraditional Life. As she gets to know Ada, she sees a glimpse of what it truly means to be an independent woman in the 20th century.