Larry’s wife, Sally, is an academic trained in Classics. She is unflinchingly supportive of Larry—so much so that her own presence in the narrative is subdued, even suppressed. Despite this unequal dynamic, Sally remains a key countervailing voice to Larry’s sometimes self-serving narration, and her influence changes the tone and direction of his own thoughts where the Langs are concerned. After the difficult birth of their first child, whom they name Lang, Sally contracts polio, and her health remains in serious peril for many years. She emerges from the ordeal physically disabled yet firm in her dignity and strength of character. As time goes on, she feels guilty for needing Larry’s constant care, and consequently, she enables his own isolationist and deflective tendencies. Yet despite these flaws, Sally remains unfailingly loyal, a trait she proves as much in her devotion to Charity and Sid as to her own husband and family. 

Her contributions to the plot are most prominent in the two couples’ reunion after eight years of distance and vague estrangement, for upon watching Sally’s eagerness as she heads forward to meet Charity, Larry must reconsider his own long-held resentment over Charity’s overbearing ways. Sally’s manner forces him to recall the Langs’ kindness and generosity over the years, and his wife’s favorable reaction to the meeting compels him to regard his old friends in a more forgiving light. In this as in other aspects of the novel, Sally’s own thoughts and opinions are only expressed through Larry’s limited viewpoint and filtered through his innate biases, but even so, she remains a steadfast and influential presence in the novel as a whole.

Charity, whose domineering attitude sometimes casts her as the closest figure to an antagonist in this nonlinear novel, exudes a bright, energetic manner and is also physically attractive. In his retrospective account, Larry betrays a complex mixture of feelings towards Charity, variously evincing a blend of intimidation, admiration, and resentment. From the very beginning, Charity presents herself as an upright and imposing New Englander, for despite her warm demeanor, she is imperious and eminently inflexible, and she habitually imposes her will on both her husband and her friends. Over the years, Larry comes to resent Charity as he witnesses the many concessions that Sid makes to please her. Larry and others believe that Charity exerts too much influence over Sid, and the most critical instance of this dynamic occurs when Charity expresses negative views toward poetry and actively hinders Sid’s prospective career in this area. However, Sally’s more generous recollections of Charity’s kindness and benevolence toward her are designed to temper Larry’s uncompromising views, and he eventually adjusts his perspective enough to concede that her need to be in control at all times is matched by the strength of her authentic selflessness and generosity. However, the novel closes with a more pointed focus on her flaws than her virtues.