58 pages 1 hour read

Jennifer Weiner

Mrs. Everything

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character Analysis

Jo

Jo, one of the story’s protagonists, takes on the role of protective older sister. A feminist and a lesbian, she spends her life finding the strength to value her truth. In the beginning, she’s fearless, an athletic tomboy who is sure of her sexuality and fights passionately for equal rights for everyone, including women, gay people, and all races, particularly Black people, who experience segregation during her childhood. Because the women she has relationships with early in her life cannot live openly, she cannot be fully be herself, and she experiences heartbreak. She rejects traditional femininity, and, as Bethie points out, she never cares about what others think, wearing her hair short, playing sports, and dressing as she wants. She and her mother have a troubled relationship because Sarah cannot accept Jo’s “unnatural” behaviors. Jo is much closer to her father, Ken, who accepts and supports her as she is. Jo also shows courage when she doesn’t deny the truth of who she is. While she never directly tells Sarah that she’s a lesbian, she never denies it and hopes Sarah can accept her, as her father did. Jo struggles with acceptance and following her unconventional dreams of being a writer and reuniting with Shelley.

Related Titles

By Jennifer Weiner

Study Guide

logo

Big Summer

Jennifer Weiner

Big Summer

Jennifer Weiner

Plot Summary

logo

Good in Bed

Jennifer Weiner

Good in Bed

Jennifer Weiner

Plot Summary

logo

In Her Shoes

Jennifer Weiner

In Her Shoes

Jennifer Weiner

Study Guide

logo

That Summer

Jennifer Weiner

That Summer

Jennifer Weiner