Reread this description of Helen:

She was short and thick waisted, with cropped silver hair and bright pink lipstick. She wore a sleeveless summer dress, a necklace of white plastic beads, and spectacles on a chain that hung like a swing against her chest. The backs of her legs were mapped with dark blue veins, and her upper arm sagged like the flesh of a roasted eggplant.

What character traits does the author’s use of figurative language reveal about Helen?