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The morally ambiguous protagonist and narrator of the novel, Maren’s cannibalism isolates her from others and dictates her actions. Other than one incident in early infancy, Maren’s cannibalism emerges during puberty, a period of life associated with bodily changes, confusing emotions, and early sexuality. Throughout the novel, Maren consumes several boys and young men who express interest in her, suggesting that her cannibalism is closely tied to her own romantic and sexual desires, even though it also prevents her from intimacy with others. Compared to the other “eaters'' depicted in the story, she has little control over her hunger for human flesh. Though she tries to resist her hunger, she compulsively consumes those who get too close to her, only gaining cognizance of her actions afterwards. In fact, she never even remembers the actual act of cannibalism itself, reflecting her characteristic desire to forget about her troubles and to avoid uncomfortable truths.
Unlike Lee or Sully, Maren experiences profound guilt and shame as a result of her actions. Moving from place to place throughout her adolescence in order to evade detection by authorities, she is isolated socially and struggles to connect with others. Instead, she turns to books for comfort and companionship, even carrying around a small collection of her favorites while she travels across the country to find her father. Terrified of abandonment after being abandoned by her own mother, Maren feels that her books are her only reliable companions who cannot leave her. Further, books allow her to imagine herself as someone else, giving her a brief and temporary reprieve from her own unhappy life. This desire to “escape” from her troubles is characteristic of Maren in the early chapters of the novel. Unable to confront her own actions directly, she instead indulges in fantasy, retreating into stories and daydreaming about the happy life that she will have once reunited with her father.
As the story progresses, however, Maren matures significantly. After several disappointing and disillusioning experiences, she learns to confront the difficult truth of her situation and grows adept at surviving on her own against difficult odds. At the end of the novel, she finally begins to embrace her status as an eater without guilt or shame, deliberately seducing a young male college student with the intention of eating him. By the end of the novel, then, Maren accepts that her cannibalism is an essential part of her own identity, leaving behind the moral qualms that have followed her throughout the novel.
