The Leftovers

Laurie Garvey’s point of view is the first one presented in The Leftovers. Centering her in the prologue signals the importance of her character and of what her arc symbolizes. She is one of the novel’s protagonists, along with the rest of her family, and is a deeply complex character who is concerned with moral obligations and structure. Though Laurie did not lose anyone in the rapture, helping her best friend Rosalie Sussman cope with the loss of her daughter radically alters Laurie’s view of the world and the role she plays in her family and her community. Laurie follows Rosalie in joining the Guilty Remnant, a group formed in response to the Rapture that values austerity, mortification of the flesh through cigarettes, a vow of silence, and the belief that the end is near.

Laurie’s decision to join is primarily the result of her resentment toward people’s returning to their normal lives following the Rapture. She believes that this normalcy is a fantasy and that everyone is putting up a false persona to live willingly within an illusion (121). Laurie values the hardship and newness of the Guilty Remnant’s lifestyle, as it makes her feel as though her life as value and is not just an illusion.