Constance "Connie" Chatterley is a 27-year-old intellectual who feels increasingly isolated in the rural setting of Wragby Hall. Born into a well-to-do Scottish family, she grew up exposed to art and progressive political ideals. Her marriage to Clifford places her in a suffocating position of constant caregiving, draining her physical vitality. She possesses a deep yearning for a child and seeks a stronger connection to the natural world to cure her growing despair.

Clifford is an aristocratic landowner and aspiring writer who is permanently paralyzed from the waist down. He is deeply invested in preserving the traditions of the upper class and securing an heir for his estate. His physical trauma leaves him emotionally detached, prioritizing intellectual debate and industrial success over the physical realities of human existence.

Mellors serves as the gamekeeper for Wragby Hall, preferring to live a quiet existence in an isolated cottage. Originally from a mining background, he is well-educated and served in the military, giving him an ambiguous class status. He harbors reservations about modern society and avoids emotional entanglements due to past hardships.

A widowed, working-class woman in her mid-forties who serves as Clifford's personal nurse. She is highly observant and shrewd. She enjoys sharing local gossip, finding an unusual sense of power and intimacy in her close daily contact with the aristocratic Clifford.

Connie's older sister, who lives an intellectual life and holds progressive political beliefs. She is fiercely protective of Connie and independent, pushing back against Clifford's demands on her sister's time.

A young, wealthy Irish playwright whose successful work satirizes English high society. He engages in a brief, mutually pragmatic affair with Connie early in her marriage.

An educated peer of Clifford who participates in lofty, cynical discussions about love and relationships. He is intellectual but emotionally detached, admitting he cannot combine respect and desire for women.

A friend of Clifford's from Cambridge who takes part in philosophical debates at the estate. He demonstrates the cold, cerebral masculinity of Clifford's social circle.

Another of Clifford's intellectual peers from Cambridge, known for holding cynical views on modern life and relationships.

Clifford's sister, who maintains a tense and strained relationship with her sister-in-law, Connie.

Clifford's aunt, who observes Connie's deteriorating physical state and suggests she spend more time in London to enjoy her youth.

A well-known artist and patriarch of a bohemian Scottish family. He holds liberal views but retains a practical, traditional streak regarding social class and family inheritance.

A tenant on the Chatterley estate who recently had a baby. Her child stirs deep feelings of maternal longing within Connie.

Oliver Mellors's estranged wife, who lives apart from him but remains legally married to him. She is described as sexually assertive and highly volatile, causing public disruption within the community.

An artist and friend of Connie and Hilda. He is a modern, bohemian figure who holds unconventional views about relationships and art.

The young daughter of Oliver Mellors, who is primarily raised by her grandmother. She shares a distant and uneasy relationship with her father.