Maddie Schwartz is the protagonist of Lady in the Lake. The novel centers around the year of her life that follows her decision to leave her husband after two decades in pursuit of opportunities to accrue the attention and recognition she felt denied as a housewife and mother. A well-respected and admired member of Baltimore’s Jewish community, Maddie relies on her connections to enable her self-invention. She married Milton Schwartz, 10 years her senior, at the age of 19. She actively sought this arrangement following a tumultuous sexual relationship with Allan Durst Sr., a local painter. Hired to create her portrait, the adult man took advantage of their sessions alone together to exploit Maddie’s youth, inexperience, and vulnerability after his son broke up with her. When Maddie discovered she was pregnant at 17, Allan Sr. arranged for and insisted that Maddie have an abortion.

As an adult in her thirties, Maddie views the abortion as a transgression. Early in her marriage to Milton, convinced that her inability to conceive a child was somehow related to the termination of her pregnancy, Maddie visited Allan Sr. one final time. She engaged in sexual intercourse with him, and then with Milton less than a day later, finally conceiving.