Emily is a 19th-century poet living at the Dickinson Homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts. She writes extensively but remains highly reclusive, maintaining intense letter-writing relationships with literary figures rather than seeking public attention. She preserves her vast poetic output in loose-leaf formats and bound fascicles, observing themes of death, nature, and the transient nature of fame from her home.

Helen is a celebrated poet, writer, and Native American rights activist who relocates to Colorado Springs. She attempts to convince Emily to publish her poetry and asks to be her literary executor. Her successful career is cut short by a sudden diagnosis of stomach cancer, making her the likely subject of Emily's poem regarding the fleeting nature of fame.

Higginson is an abolitionist, women's rights activist, and literary figure. He acts as a sounding board for Emily Dickinson over years of correspondence, encouraging her creative output. Following her death, he works to ensure her poetry reaches the public.

Susan is Emily's sister-in-law. She receives strict instructions to burn Emily's poems after the poet passes away. She ignores this request, saving the loose-leaf papers that secure Emily's historical legacy, though she does not manage to get them published herself.

Mabel is an energetic and dramatic presence in the otherwise quiet circle of the Dickinson family. She steps in after Emily's death to organize, reproduce, and ultimately publish the disordered boxes of poetry left behind.

Edward is a lawyer and politician in Massachusetts. He is the patriarch of the prestigious Dickinson family, moving them across Amherst before settling back at the Homestead where Emily writes her poetry.

Emily Norcross is married to Edward Dickinson. She lives with her family at the Dickinson Homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Samuel is an established literary figure. Emily Dickinson writes to him extensively, sharing thoughts on contemporary fiction and revealing a quiet desire to see her own work in print.

Sophia is Emily's young second cousin. In 1844, she contracts typhus, a wasting disease. Emily stays by her bedside for weeks until the child passes away, an event that heavily influences Emily's later writings on mortality.