Isadora is a 29-year-old published poet who struggles with a severe fear of flying. She attends psychoanalytic conferences with her husband while attempting to reconcile her desires for sexual freedom with her longing for security. Raised by a mother who pitted artistic ambition against family life, she continuously questions the social expectations placed on women.

Bennett is a pragmatic psychoanalyst of Chinese descent who offers Isadora stability after her chaotic first marriage. He frequently uses professional terminology to assess his wife's desires, positioning himself as an authority on her mind. He values quiet domesticity over unpredictable passion.

Adrian is an English psychoanalyst attending the Freud conference in Vienna. He actively shuns conventional morality and encourages Isadora to pursue physical pleasure without guilt. Despite his confident exterior and vocal defense of absolute freedom, his actions often contradict his stated philosophies.

Jude is Isadora's mother, a frustrated artist who channels her thwarted ambitions into interior decoration. She frequently expresses resentment toward her children for limiting her potential career. She provides contradictory advice about love and autonomy, leaving her daughters to untangle conflicting expectations.

Brian is Isadora's first husband, an eccentric and highly intelligent man who insists on marrying her early in their relationship. He initially provides engaging companionship and entertaining conversation. His behavior grows erratic as he experiences a severe mental decline, eventually abandoning his career in market research due to religious delusions.

Charlie is a trust-fund musician who conducts a choral group and gives piano lessons. He perceives himself as an unappreciated genius and openly scorns conventional life choices. He maintains a fearful attitude toward flying and exhibits questionable personal hygiene.

Gundra, who goes by Randy, is Isadora's older sister living in Beirut with her husband and nine children. She strongly believes that motherhood is a woman's most important achievement. She routinely dismisses Isadora's literary accomplishments.

Pia is Isadora's long-time best friend, spanning from their high school years through college and European travels. The two women rely on each other for intellectual stimulation while seeking physical gratification elsewhere.

Pierre is a Lebanese physicist married to Isadora's sister, Randy. He manages a massive, chaotic household of nine children while maintaining a pedantic demeanor. He frequently crosses boundaries with his wife's visiting relatives.

Lalah is Isadora's younger sister, married to an African American doctor. She lives a lavish lifestyle and underwent extensive fertility treatments before giving birth to quintuplets.

Chloe is Isadora's youngest sister, who married into an Israeli family business. She adheres closely to the traditional family structure their mother professes to despise, raising the family's favorite grandchild.

Horst is a German printer and former Nazi who uniquely admits his past political affiliations rather than feigning resistance. He hires Isadora to write an English-language tourist column, though he quickly objects to her unearthing uncomfortable historical sites.

Dr. Happe is the psychoanalyst who treated Isadora while she lived in Heidelberg. He provides her with practical encouragement regarding her poetry, diagnosing her intense guilt as the primary barrier to her happiness.

Kolner is a psychoanalyst who previously treated Isadora. He labels her as aggressive when she challenges conventional feminine expectations, prompting her to abandon his treatment entirely.

Salome is a woman living in Paris with another man while maintaining a passionate correspondence with Charlie Fielding.