Colonel in Honey Girl: Character Analysis of Grace's Father

Overview of Colonel in Honey Girl — Grace's Father and the Weight of Expectations — Book Overview — Colonel, the name Grace uses for her father throughout most of the novel, is a career military man whose rigid expectations for his daughter shape much of her internal conflict. He raised Grace from age thirteen after leaving the family's Florida orange groves, and his Portland house eventually became her home. He is a figure of discipline, formal communication, and high standards, but the novel gradually reveals that his stern exterior masks a deeper fear: that he cannot protect or advocate for Grace as a Black woman in a predominantly white academic field. This fear, rather than disappointment, is what drives his most painful decision in the story. His character is central to understanding Grace's journey, as his expectations are a primary reason her post-PhD plan felt so rigid and unforgiving, a dynamic explored in the theme of the grand plan and post-PhD identity collapse.