The anonymous narrator of the poem serves as the guiding voice exploring the act of memory. The speaker observes and lists various sensory childhood memories, describing iridescent spiderwebs, falling rain, and dissolving sugar. By highlighting these vivid recollections, the narrator questions the irresistible nature of nostalgia and retrospection.

The titular subject of the poem is drawn from the biblical Book of Genesis. She is a mortal woman attempting to flee the destruction of her home city of Sodom alongside her family. Holding a deep attachment to her homeland and loved ones, she experiences a profoundly human impulse to look backward at the life she is leaving behind despite receiving divine warnings.

A biblical patriarch residing in the wicked enclave of Sodom. He extends hospitality to two disguised angels when they arrive at the city gates, offering them shelter in his home. He attempts to protect his divine guests from an aggressive local mob and receives instructions to evacuate his family from the city.

The omnipotent biblical deity who judges the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Finding a lack of worthy residents, He dispatches messengers to extract Lot's family. He demands absolute obedience from those fleeing the impending devastation, expecting unquestioning allegiance over earthly attachments.

A real-world French author explicitly referenced within the text of the poem. The speaker invokes his love for small, precise details to validate the human necessity of savoring sensory memories and actively looking back at the past.

Two divine messengers who visit the city of Sodom. They test the hospitality of the local residents, accept shelter from Lot, and issue the critical warning for the family to evacuate without looking backward.

The two virgin daughters living with Lot and his wife. They join their parents in hastily evacuating the city following the divine warning from the angels.

The aggressive men residing in Sodom. They demonstrate extreme inhospitality and wickedness by violently surrounding Lot's house and demanding physical access to the disguised angels.

A biblical patriarch and uncle to Lot. He travels alongside his nephew early in their narrative before the two ultimately part ways, leading Lot to settle in Sodom.