The Seed Keeper

Rosalie is The Seed Keeper’s protagonist. Most of the point-of-view chapters are hers, but her characterization further develops through other characters’ viewpoints, namely Gaby and Darlene’s. She is a tall Dakhóta woman who was raised by her father in a rustic cabin. She is bookish, as that is a pastime she shared with her father, and books are one of the few possessions she has when she enters foster care. The other possession she carries throughout the novel is her father’s rabbit fur hunting cap. This item signifies not only how she misses and admires her father, but the survival skills he taught her, including trapping and skinning rabbits. Demonstrating that particular skill gets her removed from her first foster home. Without any women to influence her early life, Rosalie’s attire beyond the cap is masculine, “like she shopped in the boys’ wear and never owned a mirror” (56), according to Gaby. Trained to be resourceful from an early age, Rosalie wears glasses that are held together with tape or safety pins. This detail about her appearance indicates that Rosalie is more focused on seeing others and observing what’s around her than seeing herself.