Who is C. from Galatea 2.2 and what is their importance?

C. is a former student at the university where Richard goes to school and then subsequently teaches. She takes one of his classes and has one of the highest scores and one of the best papers in the class. Not surprisingly one of the things that he likes about her writing is its honesty and intimacy. Her writing is predominantly about her family and growing up in Chicago.

She maintains very close ties with her parents as well as the rest of her cousins and other family. It is very important to her and speaks to how she maintains a coherent sense of self. She helps Richard process his father's death out on the quad and that is how she eventually becomes involved with him.

One of C.'s main issues is in choosing her identity. She is in America, but still feels strong ties to the Netherlands. When her parents move back to the old country, her sense of self dissolves. This is especially true in light of Richard's writing success.