The Paris AtlasCharting the artists, works, and places worth returning to.
Illustrated portrait of Therese Belivet

A character in The Price of Salt

Therese Belivet

A young aspiring set designer whose fascination with Carol becomes her first clear experience of romantic love.

What they want in The novel’s account

To understand what she feels for Carol and build an adult life based on her own desire and creative work rather than the plans others make for her.

The book

Cover of The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
The Price of SaltPatricia Highsmith, 1952

Two women fall in love while the conventional futures expected of them close in.

View the book

At a glance

Work
Department-store clerk and aspiring set designer
Boyfriend
Richard Semco
Love
Carol Aird

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Therese begins the novel working temporarily in a department store and drifting through a relationship with Richard that feels more expected than chosen. Her attention becomes vivid when Carol enters her line of sight.

Loving Carol exposes Therese’s inexperience, jealousy, and tendency to idealize. Their separation helps her develop a professional identity and make a more deliberate final choice.

How the book draws them

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • Young and observantHer serious attention is more striking than social confidence.
  • Early-1950s clothesHer appearance reflects a young working woman in New York.
  • Reserved expressionShe often watches before she speaks.
  • Emerging confidenceThe portrait should not make her seem helpless.
  • Close engraved bustNo counter, sketchbook, or theater scenery appears.
  • Muted blue-gray accentThe cool color suits her watchful temperament.
What happens to Therese BelivetHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Therese rejects the future Richard assumes they will share. After first hesitating at Carol’s offer, she recognizes that she still loves Carol and goes to meet her at the Oak Room.

If you like The Price of Salt

Four books that share themes, tone, or setting with this one.

If you like Patricia Highsmith

Explore authors with a similar voice, perspective, and influence.

  • Illustrated portrait of Simone de Beauvoir

    Simone de Beauvoir

    French writer and philosopher whose novels, memoirs, and social analysis examined freedom, gender, responsibility, aging, and the material conditions that shape a life.

    View author
  • Illustrated portrait of Louis-Ferdinand Céline

    Louis-Ferdinand Céline

    The doctor of the Paris slums who wrote the century's blackest, funniest novel — and changed the sound of French prose.

    View author
  • Illustrated portrait of Martha Gellhorn

    Martha Gellhorn

    War correspondent who covered the Spanish Civil War, D-Day, and conflicts across five more decades; Hemingway's third wife, 1940–1945.

    View author
Back to The Price of Salt