Still Life with Woodpecker

The protagonist of the novel, Leigh-Cheri is a deposed princess who lives with her parents, King Max and Queen Tilli, in a house in Seattle. Her parents note, “she was lovely. Her hair, as straight and red as ironed ketchup rode gravity’s one-way ticket all the way to her waist” (17). Her red hair is her dominant feature and plays an outsized role in Leigh-Cheri’s story, as she connects with Bernard through it and develops her theory of pyramidology with his story of the Red Beards of Argon in mind.

As a princess, Leigh-Cheri represents an outmoded model of civilization, the “old world.” However, Robbins also uses her position as a princess to subvert the traditional representation of princesses as passive and submissive figureheads. She is not interested in being rescued and proves herself A Modern Fairy Tale Princess in her desire to be the hero of her own story.

When the novel begins, Leigh-Cheri is 19 years old and is recovering from a miscarriage that happened while she was cheering at a football game, resulting in her withdrawal from school and a breakup with her boyfriend. Leigh-Cheri moves home with her parents, determined to be more mature, but unsure what that means.