Caraval

Scarlett Dragna, the protagonist, is the responsible, pragmatic young adult daughter of Governor Dragna. She sees her feelings in color and is “a pretty girl, though she often like[s] to hide it” (67). Unlike her fair sister, Tella, she possesses “her mother’s thick dark hair, which complemented her olive skin” and has “a petite nose and hazel eyes so large she always felt they gave too much away” (67). As the elder sister, Scarlett has shielded Tella from the extent of her father’s misdeeds and therefore is risk-averse and tries to hide herself away from the world and her desires.

Having experienced so much trauma, Scarlett often makes decisions out of fear and practicality. She lives to survive. Scarlett desperately wants to whisk her sister away to safety and believes her fiancé is the solution to all her problems. It’ll make her father happy and get them away from his abusive clutches.

However, Scarlett is a dynamic hero who realizes there’s more to life than safety, and sometimes, running away from something doesn’t mean escaping. She is a complex, round character who learns to embrace her desires, face her fears, and move toward her goals, rather than run from her fears.