The titular Housekeeper is the first-person narrator and ostensible protagonist of the novel; like the rest of the characters, she remains unnamed throughout. She was raised by her own single mother, a woman who worked long hours at a banquet hall, which required her to spend a lot of time caring for herself at home from a very young age. While in high school, she became pregnant by a boy who refused responsibility for the child, and her mother disowned her in response; as a result, as soon as Root was born, she went to work as a housekeeper.

The narrator describes herself as practical-minded and somewhat cold—when Root is born, she does not feel warmth toward him, but a sense of obligation and responsibility that make her a dedicated mother. Therefore, although she works hard to make ends meet, Root spends a lot of time without her, and he doesn’t have the same kinds of childhood experiences that his friends do (e.g., collecting baseball cards). At the same time, she doesn’t think much about her own passions or experiences—she is only concerned with raising Root as best she can.

However, her employment with the Professor changes this.