Jean-Francois de la Rocque de Roberval is the text’s main antagonist, based on the historic man of the same name. Roberval is Marguerite’s cousin and guardian who oversees her estate while she remains unwed. As a voyager who makes his living sailing for the King, his successes make him “well loved at home and feared abroad, and famous everywhere” (6). Due to his life of travel, Marguerite hardly sees Roberval during her adolescent years. Although Roberval is supposed to oversee Marguerite’s fortune in trust, Roberval uses the money as if it is his own. He finances his journeys with Marguerite’s inheritance and furnishes his own house lavishly, giving Marguerite only a sparse allowance. When Roberval loses Marguerite’s fortune on a bad voyage, he also destroys her prospects of marrying.

Roberval is a temperamental man who desires power, glory, and obedience. He is eager to go to the New World as a “proxy for the King” to conquer peoples and lands and become rich (66). Roberval wields his position of power to manipulate Marguerite and boost his ego. He takes control of her education not out of an altruistic desire to develop her mind, but out of a desire to assert his dominance. He takes pleasure in demonstrating his talents, like when he corrects Auguste’s cittern playing in front of the ship’s leaders. Roberval demands strict obedience from his servants “in heart and mind” (113). To secure Marguerite’s obedience, he alternates between praising and scolding her. With physical and emotional abuse, he makes Marguerite fear his punishments and crave his praise, so she will behave in any way he wants. Roberval enjoys toying with her because it proves he has ultimate power over her.

Roberval claims to be a man of faith, but Marguerite believes that he only worships money as evidenced by his opulent home: He converts his chapel into an office for his secretary, desecrating the sacred space and prioritizing the tracking of his fortune over spiritual devotion. Roberval wields God’s words against those who disobey him, like when he shames Marguerite with psalms for her disobedience in front of the ship’s crew. Marguerite and Auguste’s love affair offends him because it proves he can’t totally control them. Roberval tells the Queen the story of Marguerite’s exile, painting himself as her divine punisher—exiling her for her sins—as well as her salvation. Roberval’s manipulative character does not change throughout the text, and by the end, he continues to seek money from Marguerite through implied threats of punishment.

Damienne is a minor character and Marguerite’s life-long nurse. Damienne was a maid for Marguerite’s mother before becoming Marguerite’s own nurse, and she thinks of the girl as her own child. Damienne comes from a farming family and doesn’t know how to read or write, so she teaches Marguerite the thing she knows best: how to pray. Damienne is extremely devout in her adherence to propriety. She refuses to act above her station and scolds Marguerite whenever the girl fraternizes with those below her. Even on the deserted island, Damienne shelters Marguerite from the labor of survival because she thinks it’s unladylike. Damienne is also resourceful. She exchanges her sewing skills for money or services in La Rochelle and aboard the ship, and on the island she fashions tools out of the natural elements to make survival easier.

Damienne is deeply religious and believes strongly in providence—so much so that she often upsets Marguerite with her unwavering acceptance of hardship. When faced with difficult situations, Damienne whispers, “God’s will” to herself as a reminder of her belief that all events have a purpose, even if they are beyond her comprehension. Marguerite comes to see Damienne’s devotion as a kind of courage, since Damienne is often thrown into challenging situations because of Marguerite’s disobedience. Despite her faith, Damienne occasionally gives in to despair, like when she has an infected tooth or when she must travel on the ship. In these moments, Damienne’s fear completely overwhelms her and reduces her to a childlike state. Marguerite cares for Damienne in a role reversal of all the moments the nurse has cared for her.

As a child, Marguerite sees Damienne as a possession, someone who must be loyal to her because she serves her, but as the women share in hardship, Marguerite comes to love her nurse and thinks of her as the mother she never had. Damienne dies on the island, but Marguerite keeps her voice alive within her as she makes her way back to France.

Auguste is a minor character and Marguerite’s lover. Auguste is Roberval’s secretary, who worked his way up from errand boy after proving his skill with reading and writing. Auguste is the son of a sailor, but when his father died, he endured abuse at the hands of his stepfather. Auguste ran away from his apprenticeship with a leather tanner and learned how to survive on the streets before joining Roberval’s household. This experience helps him survive on the island, as he recalls the resourcefulness of his past. Roberval looks kindly on Auguste because he goes above and beyond in his work. Auguste has more authority than other servants in Roberval’s house, and because Roberval trusts his loyalty, he gives Auguste management responsibilities in his absence. However, Auguste is obedient to Roberval out of fear rather than true loyalty. He knows Roberval demands perfection, so he works hard to please him to make his own life easier.

Marguerite is initially hesitant around Auguste, but his frank and playful nature emboldens her to speak with him. She finds Auguste’s attempts at conversation improper yet refreshing, as he occupies the space of “not quite a servant, not quite a gentleman” (65). The pair bond over their shared subjugation under Roberval’s rule. Auguste has dark eyes and a “quick smile,” and the maids in the house find him handsome. Auguste falls in love with Marguerite’s boldness, and Marguerite returns his affections because she admires his complexity. Auguste isn’t shy about occasionally doubting God and not understanding providence, which empowers Marguerite to grapple with her own doubts. He accepts that sometimes a coincidence is just a coincidence, and he takes a measured approach to his life. Auguste claims he “believe[s] in symmetry” and accepts both the good and the bad in life, even his exile on the island (120).

Auguste is protective of Marguerite, and as the only man on the island, he initially takes on the role of hunter. Auguste is also considerate towards Damienne, particularly her faith. He sees Damienne’s spiritual work as “vital as the work of her hands” so he helps her by keeping a calendar for regular Sunday services (182). Before Auguste dies, he ensures that Marguerite knows how to use the gun so she won’t go hungry, further exemplifying not only his love but his practicality. Auguste’s death completely crushes Marguerite but also catalyzes her transformation on the island.

Claire D’Artois is a minor character and the daughter of Madame D’Artois who acts as a foil to Marguerite. Claire is one year older than Marguerite, and where Marguerite is “fair,” Claire has dark hair, dark eyes, and “a look of health and fresh air, nothing fainting or refined” (10). Despite her unrefined appearance, Claire behaves more like a typical lady than Marguerite. Claire is a diligent worker, so she easily surpasses Marguerite in needlework, reading, writing, and music. Claire is also deeply modest, so she refuses any compliments about her talents. As a foil to Marguerite, the text shows Claire spending hours each day sitting quietly at her work, where Marguerite runs reckless around the castle. This disparity in their behavior makes Marguerite envious of Claire, who has the innate patience and humility that she lacks. Marguerite uses Claire as an example of how to improve herself.

Claire is deeply religious, so much so that she dreams of becoming a nun. Clarie’s piety and belief in divine virtues makes her extremely kind-hearted and charitable, even to those who have wronged her. For example, after Nicholas Montfort harasses her and threatens her livelihood, Clarie prays for his recovery because she refuses to be vengeful. Marguerite worries that her story will offend Claire because she has often acted without virtue, but rather than judge Marguerite for her faults, Claire weeps for the suffering she endured.

Although Claire is pious and reserved, she is also shrewd. Claire and her mother know Roberval’s moves before Marguerite does, which helps them to plan how they’ll live once Marguerite is gone. Claire and Marguerite become as close as sisters, but Claire still recognizes that she is part of a different class. She is both open and reserved with Marguerite, and she only speaks freely with her own mother. In the novel’s conclusion, Claire refuses to become a nun because she doesn’t want to be parted from Marguerite and her mother again, demonstrating the honesty of her bonds with the women.

Madame Jacqueline D’Artois is a minor character and Marguerite’s teacher at Perigord. Madame D’Artois is “tall and nunnish,” and she carries herself with poise and grace (11). She is intelligent, accomplished, and knows how to speak four languages. Madame D’Artois teaches both Marguerite and Claire but never pits the girls against each other. Madame D’Artois, like Damienne, believes in propriety, so along with practical lessons, she teaches Marguerite how to behave, gently scolding her when she acts inappropriately. Marguerite thinks Madame D’Artois behaves like a saint because she is “so good and quiet,” but Claire simply calls her a lady (14). Madame D’Artois was a lady of some means when her husband was alive, but after his death, she had to auction her property and find an occupation, which is how she came to serve in Queen Marguerite of Navarre’s court.

Marguerite notices a sadness in Madame D’Artois’ demeanor, which stems from the Queen expelling her from court. Madame was pursued by a poet whom the Queen loved, and in anger, the Queen dismissed her, forcing Madame to travel from place to place taking work as a teacher. Due to the precarity of her occupation, Madame is clever and perceptive. She constantly watches the girls together, and she listens to the servants’ gossip to gather information about Roberval and the Montforts’ activities. Madame D’Artois keeps her information to herself and limits what Claire shares with Marguerite because she understands the necessity of discretion. When Marguerite returns, Madame D’Artois welcomes the girl home and helps her to start a school for girls.

The Montforts—Lady Katherine, Suzanne, Ysabeau, and Nicholas—are minor, flat characters. The Montforts are a merchant family who, with their growing wealth, mortgage Perigord from Roberval and eventually purchase the castle and title of Lord and Lady. Suzanne and Ysabeau, eight and five years old at the start of the novel, are their youngest children whom Claire and Marguerite teach in their tower. The girls are enthusiastic about their studies and like to be praised for what they learn. Their parents grant them their every wish, and the girls demonstrate their entitlement, proving just how little they are denied, when they sulk and ignore their teachers when the women leave to open their own school because they want them to stay at Perigord.

Lady Katherine Montfort is polite and generous, and she indulges her children’s every whim. Lady Katherine helps Marguerite secure an audience with the Queen, shrewdly using Marguerite as an opportunity to gain more favor with the monarch. Lady Katherine is kinder to Marguerite after the Queen rewards her with a fortune, further illustrating the woman’s desire to always secure good connections.

Nicholas Montfort is a symbolic character who epitomizes the patriarchal society Marguerite and her female companions inhabit. Nicholas is haughty and stereotypically masculine, delighting in hunting and riding. Nicholas lusts after Claire and pursues her aggressively with love poems, letters, and gifts. He represents the threat women lived under in the novel’s historical period. No matter how Claire responds to his declarations of love, Nicholas continues to pursue her, knowing he has the power to ruin her reputation because his word will be believed over her. Nicholas dies from a hunting injury, which is the only way Claire finds relief from his attention.

Alys is a minor, static character and one of the maids in Roberval’s house. Marguerite is drawn to Alys because she is friendly, welcoming, and “seem[s] unafraid” (58). Initially, Marguerite pays Alys for information, but the pair soon spend their time freely gossiping about Roberval and news from the house. Damienne thinks Alys is a bad influence because she disregards the divide between servant and noble classes, but Marguerite appreciates the access Alys gives her to the outside world. When Alys takes Marguerite to the city wall, Marguerite sees Alys’s protectiveness, which leads her to believe the maid sees her as a friend. Due to the Alys’s kindness over the years, Marguerite thinks she is trustworthy enough to post her letter to Madame D’Artois, but when Marguerite’s plot is discovered, she realizes Alys’s loyalty is to her employer first.

Jean Alfonse is a minor, static character based on the historic figure of the same name. Jean Alfonse is a navigator “famous” for his skills. Where the other leaders of the voyage to New France are idealistic, Jean Alfonse is a pragmatist, and he is one of the few men to stand up to Roberval. When Roberval blames him for misjudging the length of their journey, Jean Alfonse reminds his leader that his predictions were made based on the unpredictable winds and cannot be held to strict standards of accuracy. Jean Alfonse is also discreet, and when he discovers the blossoming affair between Marguerite and Auguste, he keeps the information to himself because he sees “no reason” to expose it (130). Jean Alfonse feels sympathetic to the young couple, and in a show of honor, he rows the group to an island with vegetation so they will have a better chance at survival. Jean Alfonse also offers Marguerite and Auguste a place to stay at his house if they ever return to France. Unfortunately, Jean Alfonse is back at sea when Marguerite returns and seeks him out, which forces her to seek shelter back at her home in Perigord.