Mrs. Grimes is an aging woman living on a small Midwestern farm. Conditioned by a lifetime of poor treatment and isolation, she functions solely as a nurturer and provider for the men and animals around her. She maintains a habit of silence, dutifully carrying out her heavy physical burdens without complaint.

The Narrator is a man from a small Midwestern town who reflects on the events of Mrs. Grimes's life from an older perspective. He openly acknowledges his attempts to construct a complete story from fragments of truth, memory, and personal experience. His observations reveal his attempts to understand the complex realities of adulthood and gender roles in his community.

Jake is a cruel, unruly farmer who struggles with debt and a bad reputation in the community. He treats his wife as a commodity and views her primary purpose as providing food and producing offspring. He indulges in heavy drinking, steals horses, and frequently fights with his son.

The town butcher is a local merchant who stands out for his atypical behavior toward Mrs. Grimes. In a society that largely ignores or mistreats her, he offers extra food and openly criticizes her family's neglect.

The farm dogs live in a state of semi-domestication, enduring abuse from Jake Grimes while relying entirely on Mrs. Grimes for survival. They hover between their trained subservience and their primal, wolf-like instincts.

Jake Grimes's son grows up to mirror his father's worst qualities. He shares his father's destructive habits, frequently drinks, and engages in physical altercations with him.

A local farmer who acts as the first authority figure in Mrs. Grimes's life. He forces her into harsh labor and makes unwanted sexual advances toward her until Jake Grimes intervenes.

The German farmer's wife oversees the young servant girl on the farm. She subjects the girl to poor treatment and harbors deep suspicions regarding her husband's interest in the orphan.

The Narrator's older brother is a young boy in the town who views the events in the woods differently than the Narrator. His perspective proves unsatisfactory to the Narrator, prompting the older retelling of the story.

A local man who comes across a scene in the woods and misinterprets what he sees. He alerts the town, bringing a group of men to investigate the snowy clearing.

The local law enforcement officer who joins the investigation into the scene in the woods.