The Narrator is an unnamed, unmarried fiction writer who has moved away from her small-town upbringing. She frequently experiences a conflicting mix of relief and resentment regarding her mother's illness and death. Through her writing, she attempts to process her grief and examine the differences between her own modern independence and the traditional values of the previous generations.

The Mother is a former schoolteacher who boarded with the Grieves family during her youth. She is sociable and conventional, eventually becoming confined by a long, difficult illness and her duties as a homemaker. She views her early friendships with women as a time of romantic possibility and freedom, distinct from the rigid domestic life she later leads.

Flora is the older of the Grieves sisters and a devout member of the strict Cameronian religion. She lives in a divided farmhouse without modern conveniences and performs her demanding domestic duties with a surprising cheerfulness. She serves as a caretaker for her bedridden younger sister, approaching her responsibilities with stoicism and unpredictable bursts of joy.

Ellie is Flora's younger sister, remembered by townspeople as a lively and mischievous girl. She is now confined to her bed with a mysterious illness seemingly linked to repeated early pregnancies. Her physical decline confines her entirely to the quiet, sickroom half of the divided farmhouse, stripping away her former free spirit.

Robert is an upstanding young man and a practicing Cameronian who lives in the divided farmhouse. He is largely passive in his interactions, allowing his circumstances to be dictated by the women in his life. He struggles to handle the strict social and religious expectations of his community alongside his personal mistakes.

Audrey is a brash, bossy nurse who brings a forceful modern energy to the conservative Grieves household. She values social status and material conveniences, standing in direct contrast to the austere Cameronian lifestyle. She openly displays her ambition and looks down on the family's old-fashioned ways, seeking alliances with anyone she perceives as similarly modern.