Laurel Mckelva the protagonist of the novel The Optimist’s Daughter, is a widow in her forties and the only child Judge Mckelva ever had. Throughout the novel she is caught in-between funerals, reminiscing old memories that took place in Mount Salus connecting them into place. She was never at peace in Mount Salus, but throughout the novel as she reencounters things from the past, it slowly starts making sense. Laurel was not only in between that, but also finding secrets and discovering more about his father’s second wife, Fay. Fay is a loving young woman whom Laurel’s father met while being out of town. In the eyes of the Judge she was loved and cherished, but in Laurel’s vison she seem otherwise. Fay is a very secretive, selfish and demanding