Carietta "Carrie" White is a 16-year-old girl from Chamberlain, Maine. Her mother, Margaret, a fanatical Christian fundamentalist, has a vindictive and unstable personality, and over the years has ruled Carrie harshly with repeated threats of damnation, as well as occasional physical abuse. Carrie does not fare much better at her school where her frumpy looks and lack of friends make her the butt of ridicule.
