Ellen-
Pre plague-
Ellen is unhappily married to Peter and they have two children.Even though Peter has provided well for the family, Ellen works as a nurse in a local physician's office full time. She loves her large home, and she is generous sharing it for get-to-gathers with friends and family during the year and on all holidays.
She freely admits to being a spendthrift and maxes out her plethora of credit cards! Even to the tune of purchasing her brother a motorcycle with them!
She loves her children and is involved with their school and extracurricular activities. She also spends time with her sister-in-law's, Kelly's, children. And is sexually involved with Kelly's husband Frank. While it is assumed Kelly is unaware of this activity, she, Ellen, and Frank have loved each other since college and have secretly been lover's for both their entire marriages.
Ellen has been a daughter figure in Frank's family since their college years and has been 'adopted' by Joe, Frank's father, and Frank's three younger brothers; Jimmy, Hal and Robbie.
Ellen' plays a main character and is pivotal to all other character's and events.A physical description of Ellen would be that she is short and petite,with long blond hair. A character description would detail her love of Frank, and her devotion to him above all other things She.is fun loving and giggly and wise cracking and cusses like a sailor! It is revealed that she adores the attention of all men, and makes no apologies for that! Through all of that she has a serious strength that shows in her nursing abilities and organization. She appears to be the glue all other character's bond to.
Ellen finds herself involved in the chaos of organizing the family for the beginnings of the plague and what comes after.
PLAGUE- And After
The wave of horror and despair and the inability to alter events but to embrace the death surrounding them was the day to day events that brought the survivors together and determined their need to relocate to Montana. George, the once standing President of the United States presents them with the option of reestablishing their world at a place prepared for survivors 'of the end of the world as we know it.'
Their journey to 'Beginnings' became Ellen's journey of womanhood through out the series, to Book 27.The reader is taken on a whirlwind trip of drama, laced with abundant humor, and emotional highs and lows that many can relate to in their own journeys.
The reader is presented with the growth and awareness that Ellen experiences from the flirty college girl to the young adulteress mother that has her two children ripped from her at the start of the plague to the determined redemption of experiencing mother hood again with the birth of her twins. Ellen will then continue to birth three more children, by different fathers, which is a gift to herself and her gift to these men, with the exception of the 'surprise' last birth. She is also gifted with adopting another son, that reminds her of her first son, Josh.
Ellen remains a shell of her former self for the first five years in Montana.She is stripped of emotions from the devastation of world wide death and relocation to s strange new life. She spends these five years learning a new life but keeping her old ways of marriage and adultery until she is confronted. This leads her on a path of entangled relationships with many men in her life. She manages to ascend from these painful, troubled stagnant times and instead builds strong relationships and bonds with these men and the people that she loves.She is able to immerse herself through this series from a simple hometown mother and nurse to emerge as a reputable physician and scientist in her own right.
Ellen is equally loved and hated through out this series. But her struggles and tragedies make this heroine able to be identified by the readers through their own journeys. And like life, the exquisite humor ties it all together to make the journey worthwhile and bearable..
BOYFRIENDS, LOVERS AND HUSBANDS
Ask Ellen how many men are too many to have in your life? And Ellen would surely just smile!
Frank Slagel begins the list as Ellen's body guard in college, while she dances to earn money for her education. He becomes her boyfriend, then they enter an adulterous relationship while married to Kelly and Pete. She will marry Frank twice through out the series.But will ALWAYS put him first and foremost above all other people and men in her life, ALWAYS. Frank will father Joey with Ellen.
Peter Calloway is her first husband and father of her two children, Josh and Taylor, as portrayed in The Silent Victor book one.
Dean Hayes, a Lieutenant in the Army when Ellen and he meet.She will marry him twice and birth the twins, William(Billy) and Alexandra. She and Dean will agree for him to be the sperm donor for Brian , which will be considered Frank's child.
Henry Kusakari is Ellen's best friend but a drunken mishap will produce another child, Nick.
Robbie Slagel is Ellen's brother-in-law that she has known since joining the Slagel family while in college and coming under Joe Slagel's fatherly wing. Robbie is alluded to as a sometimes lover through out the series.
Sgt. Elliott Ryder is best friends with Hal, Frank's brother. He is one of Ellen's suitors but this relationship has been platonic and hasn't been realized physically...yet.
Jess is stated as gay and loves Ellen's company and there does seem to be a physical 'learning/teaching' part to their relationship.
Joe Slagel is Ellen's 'adopted' father/father-in-law.While Frank is her undisputed love and savior, Joe is Ellen's rock. She is aware that nothing she does can escape him for long and he will always be able to call her out when he suspects any subterfuge! While Joe is neither boyfriend, lover nor husband to Ellen his role in her life is her solid foundation, her strength.
Motherhood
Ellen is lovingly fierce about her children but is best described as absentee unless otherwise forced to be present.She willingly is supplanted by the father's of her children in their daily care. She is uninhibited in her language and encourages the children to follow her example! She aligns with them against all grown ups and is willing to share her cheating habits in games and play time.