St. John Fox is an author who writes dark, violent stories about women. He compartmentalizes his life, maintaining emotional distance from his real-world wife while exerting complete control over his fictional creations. He views the violence in his stories as harmless fiction and refuses to consider the real-world implications of his work. His stubborn defense of his artistic choices leads to an ongoing conflict with his muse.

Mary Foxe is a literary muse occupying an ambiguous space between fiction and reality. Initially created to inspire St. John Fox, she returns to assert her autonomy and demand that he stop subjecting his female characters to violence. She refuses to remain a passive participant in his world, actively disrupting his creative process to force change. She moves fluidly between the real world and the nested fictional stories.

Daphne Fox is St. John Fox's emotionally neglected wife. She spends much of her time feeling isolated in their marriage while her husband works in his study. Suspecting him of an affair, she initially resents his focus on his writing. She gradually begins to assert her independence and forms a surprising connection with her supposed rival.

John Pizarsky is a quiet and reflective man who serves as a recurring figure in both reality and fiction. He attends the Foxes' dinner parties and pays careful attention to Daphne. His passive demeanor contrasts directly with St. John Fox's controlling nature.

Greta is an acquaintance of the Fox family who attends their social gatherings. She is occasionally dismissive toward Daphne, laughing at her insecurities and mocking her for failing to finish college.

Dr. Lustucru is the protagonist of one of St. John Fox's early stories. He is a violent husband who beheads his wife and keeps her remains in a room intended to be a nursery. He lives in constant fear that his victim will return for vengeance.

Fitcher is a character in the story "Fitcher's Bird" who answers an advertisement for a fairy-tale prince. He is a quiet, calculating man who sends foxglove flowers to his dates. He eventually participates in a violent reenactment of a fairy tale.

Madame de Silentio is the headmistress of a strict boarding school for teenage boys. She condenses academic subjects to focus entirely on conditioning boys to be ideal husbands. She frequently ignores warnings from her staff about troubled students.

Charles Wolfe is a student at Madame de Silentio's academy. He is an unattractive boy who compulsively steals blue items and writes violent entries in his diary. He helps free a dangerous man from the campus lake.

Charlie Wulf is a pretty boy with a history of severe addiction. His parents send him to a specialized academy as a last resort, where he bonds with another outcast student and breaks the school's rules.

Reynardine is a masked, harlequin-like figure who appears across multiple nested stories. He acts as a dangerous catalyst, encouraging women to write stories and inspiring murder sprees when freed from captivity.

Katherine is a fourteen-year-old girl who receives tutoring in a nested story. She is deeply engaged with literature but can be insulting toward her tutor, sending drafted letters without permission.

Blue is a woman in a nested story who approaches a grieving widow with an espresso and pens. She directs the widow into a house to write stories while she drives away with the widow's revived husband.

Brown is a Yoruba woman in a nested story who sacrifices her ability to have children to revive her dead husband. Abandoned by him in Paris, she is coerced into a mysterious house where she is ordered to write stories.