The Narrator is a working-class mother in her late thirties who gave birth to her first child as a teenager during the Great Depression. After her first husband abandons the family, she enters the workforce to ensure their physical survival, taking exhausting jobs like hashing at night. She carries heavy self-recrimination regarding the limited time she spent with her oldest daughter and the institutional childcare she relied upon out of necessity.

Emily is a 19-year-old girl whose early years are defined by the Great Depression and maternal separation. She spends significant time in an unfeeling nursery school and a restrictive measles care facility, which causes her to develop a stiff resistance to physical affection. As she grows older, she discovers a sharp talent for comedic impersonation that provides an outlet for her quiet observations.

Susan is the second child in the family, characterized by her blonde curls and natural social confidence. She fits the era's ideal image of a bubbly American youth, easily making friends and charming adults. Her presence creates friction in the household, as she demands attention and frequently plagiarizes her older sister's jokes to entertain guests.

Ronnie is the youngest sibling in the family, an infant requiring immediate physical care in the story's present timeline. He relies entirely on his mother for soothing and attention. His baby babble prompts his mother to trace the lasting influence of her oldest daughter on the family's daily life.