Joe is a biracial drifter in his thirties who struggles with alienation and his own racial identity in the segregated South. He works at the local mill and lives in a small cabin on Joanna Burden's property, keeping his distance from the townspeople while secretly bootlegging whiskey. Having spent his early years in an orphanage and with a strict adoptive family, he bears deep emotional scars that complicate his interactions with others.

Gail is a disgraced former minister who lives an isolated existence in Jefferson. Ousted from his church by the community after a public scandal involving his late wife, he now sustains himself by teaching art lessons and developing photographs. He passes his days trapped in his own memories, heavily burdened by the history of his ancestors in the Civil War.

Lena is a young, unwed pregnant woman who travels across the South searching for the father of her child. Despite facing societal judgments regarding her situation, she maintains a calm, friendly, and resourceful disposition. Her pleasant demeanor frequently inspires strangers to offer her food, lodging, and transportation along her journey.

Byron is a noble, hardworking man who has been employed at the Jefferson mill for seven years. He leads a highly regimented, solitary life, choosing to work on Saturdays and spending his Sundays directing a country church choir thirty miles away. His quiet routine shatters when he meets Lena and immediately feels a sense of duty toward her.

Joanna is a middle-aged woman living alone on an isolated property on the outskirts of Jefferson. Because her family descends from Northern abolitionists, the local Southern community views her with suspicion and treats her as an outcast. She dedicates her time and resources to advising and financially supporting Black schools and colleges.

Joe Brown, originally known as Lucas Burch, is a crafty and irresponsible opportunist. He fled Alabama after getting Lena pregnant and assumed a new identity in Mississippi to avoid commitment. He possesses a restless, apathetic nature and involves himself in illegal bootlegging to make a quick profit.

Mr. McEachern is a stern, unyielding farmer who adopts Joe out of a sense of religious duty rather than paternal love. He believes entirely in discipline, using physical beatings to instill a strict work ethic and a fear of God in his household.

Mrs. McEachern is the timid, subservient wife of Mr. McEachern. She attempts to show Joe maternal affection by sneaking him extra portions of food and trying to protect him from her husband's wrath, though her secretive methods often leave Joe feeling vulnerable.

Eupheus "Uncle Doc" Hines is a volatile, elderly man residing in Mottstown. He preaches a doctrine of white superiority at local Black churches and harbors an intense, violent hostility toward anything he deems sinful. He watches over Joe's early life with a fanatical, judgmental obsession.

Mrs. Hines is the long-suffering wife of Eupheus Hines. She lives a life deeply isolated from her Mottstown neighbors, bearing the emotional toll of her husband's volatility and the traumatic history of her late daughter.

Bobbie is a petite waitress who becomes Joe Christmas's first romantic connection during his teenage years. Unbeknownst to Joe at first, she also performs sex work at a secret brothel operated by the diner's owners, leading to severe complications in their relationship.

Percy is a young, militaristic captain in the national guard. He is fiercely assertive and subscribes intensely to doctrines of white supremacy, believing wholeheartedly in the absolute authority of the military uniform and his own race.

Mr. Armstid is a local farmer who encounters Lena during her travels. Although he privately doubts her naive belief that Lucas Burch is eagerly waiting for her, his practical nature drives him to offer her shelter and assistance.

Mrs. Armstid is a pragmatic, straightforward woman. Moved by Lena's vulnerability, she performs a decisive act of charity by breaking her own china bank to provide the young woman with money for the rest of her journey.

Milly is the late daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hines. Her youthful affair with a traveling circus worker ended in tragedy due to her father's severe prejudice and violent intervention.

Calvin is Joanna Burden's grandfather, a Northern man who ran away from home as a boy and eventually settled in the South. He raised his children with an unyielding religious and abolitionist fervor that incited violence from his Southern neighbors.

Nathan is Joanna Burden's father. After spending years in the American West, he returns to the South and ultimately adopts a pacifist worldview, concluding that violence solves nothing.

Max operates a cheap diner that secretly functions as a brothel. He employs Bobbie and exploits the women who work for him, presiding over an environment of casual violence and illegality.

Mame co-owns the diner and brothel with Max. She is complicit in the exploitation of the waitresses and participates in the hostile environment that ultimately drives Joe away.

Mrs. Hightower is the late wife of Gail Hightower. She struggled to adapt to the expectations of being a minister's wife in Jefferson, ultimately isolating herself before engaging in a scandalous affair and dying tragically in Memphis.