13 Little Blue Envelopes

Ginny is the 17-year-old protagonist of 13 Little Blue Envelopes. She is a reserved, cautious individual, often preferring to go unnoticed and disliking being the center of attention. Ginny is characterized by her clothing choices; for much of the novel, she is backpacking around Europe, which means that she has very few clothes with her. The clothes that she has are unfashionable and practical; she based her selections off advice she found in a travel guidebook. Most notable are her white sneakers, which she remarks upon often, contrasting them to the high heels she notices other women wearing on the fashionable streets of London, Paris, and Rome. Ginny dislikes that her shoes squeak and that they mark her as different from the residents of the cities she is visiting. When Ginny thinks of her looks or her clothes, it is often in comparison to others. She describes herself, for example, as “taller, curvier […] bigger” than her Aunt Peg (32). These frequent comparisons reflect Ginny’s shyness and insecurity.

Ginny experiences a personal transformation over the course of 13 Little Blue Envelopes that is, among other things, Ginny’s coming-of-age story. As Ginny travels around Europe by herself, she learns to be more independent and to trust in her own instincts.