Mrs. Sommers is a devoted, exhausted mother managing a household on a highly restrictive budget. She sacrifices her own physical and emotional necessities to care for her family, routinely skipping meals and mending worn-out clothes. The unexpected arrival of a fifteen-dollar windfall interrupts her pattern of extreme self-denial. Acting on instinct rather than her usual careful planning, she purchases small luxuries that temporarily restore her physical comfort and confidence.

Mr. Sommers is the entirely absent husband of the protagonist. His lack of presence in the narrative leaves the financial and domestic duties resting completely on his wife. The text leaves it ambiguous whether he is deceased, traveling, or simply negligent in providing for his family.

Mrs. Sommers's boys and girls are the absolute focus of her daily labor and anxiety. They require constant mending of clothes, new garments, and regular feeding. Their ongoing requirements consume their mother's energy, leaving her with no time to consider her own identity or physical exhaustion.

The neighbors remember the time before Mrs. Sommers married, discussing her previous years of relative affluence. They serve as external observers who recognize that her current standard of living falls below what she experienced in her youth.

A retail worker who oversees the display of luxury hosiery. She initially perceives that Mrs. Sommers is an unlikely candidate to purchase expensive silk items based on her worn clothing, establishing the social barrier the protagonist soon crosses.

The employee working in the shoe department. He notices the sharp difference between Mrs. Sommers's brand-new silk stockings and her otherwise shabby appearance. Despite his confusion over her unfashionable dress, he accommodates her fastidious requests for a perfect, stylish fit.

Described as a pleasant young creature working at the glove counter. Unlike the earlier clerks who noticed her shabby exterior, she accepts Mrs. Sommers as a standard, wealthy customer, reflecting the protagonist's successfully upgraded appearance.

A server in the spotless, upscale dining establishment. He provides excellent service and responds to Mrs. Sommers's generous tip by bowing to her, validating her temporary feeling of wealth, respect, and high social status.

A brightly dressed woman sharing the theatre space with Mrs. Sommers. She treats the protagonist with casual friendliness and shares her candy. This interaction emphasizes Mrs. Sommers's underlying sense of isolation from the rest of the leisure-class audience.

A discerning passenger observing Mrs. Sommers at the end of her day. He studies her face but completely fails to decipher the complex emotions and desperate longing she feels as she faces the return to her exhausting daily reality.