Eric Whelan is Emilia’s colleague-turned-lover. An Irish immigrant, he also works for The Daily Examiner, getting his start as a writer working on ads in newspapers before becoming, according to Emilia, “the best journalist in California” (63). He arrived in San Francisco after falling in love with a woman who dated and then married his brother Owen. Emilia characterizes him as very sensitive, with a “delicate soul and his lonely heart” (174). As a result, he serves as a foil to Emilia, who is unwilling to get so caught up in a romantic relationship that she forgets her aspirations. With this contrast between the journalists, Allende explores an ironic twist in gender expectations. Many would assume that Emilia, as a woman, would be more sensitive and sentimental while Eric would be rational and career-driven. Certainly, Eric, too, strives to paint a full picture of the war, but he embodies a “lover’s determination” throughout the novel in prioritizing Emilia above all else.

Eric becomes the ideal partner for Emilia, loving her enough to let her pursue her passions. A crucial part of Emilia’s relationship with her loved ones is their willingness to support her. Her parents had encouraged her pursuits even though she is a woman and likewise, Emilia looks for the same in Eric as her romantic partner. Eric’s commitment to Emilia is evident in his desire to stay with her in Chile, and while he expresses concern about her activities, he knows that he has to embrace her persistence. He also knows her so well that while “she was made to explore and that she would have been restless until she found this land, this place where she feels her roots are planted, […] she was also made to love, and she would only want a life where both things are possible” (284). Emilia trusts that Eric knows this about it, as evidenced when she tells him, “I was waiting for you!” when he comes to find her in Chile (286). Eric’s willingness to trust Emilia is crucial to their relationship. She would never compromise on her aspirations, knowing that she has just as much of a right to excel in her career as he does. Eric must—and does—accept that.

Molly Walsh is Emilia’s mother. She is an Irish immigrant whose family arrived in San Francisco when she was a child, during the Gold Rush. However, after her mother passed away, her father was unable to take care of her, leaving her with Catholic nuns at an orphanage. For Molly, this was very formative, as she became very religiously devout. She was training as a novice when she had sex with Emilia’s father, Gonzalo Andrés del Valle, and became pregnant. However, Molly ultimately ends up falling in love with Pancho Claro, with whom she has three more children.

Emilia views Molly as the person “from whom I inherited strength and tenacity,” though the Irishwoman is also “quite forceful and bossy” (24, 25). Molly also has a specific grudge against Gonzalo, as his actions were not only wrong but also left Molly in a state of ruin, from which she had to forge an entirely new life for herself and Emilia. Emilia notes that such bitterness has stayed with her mother, and that “[o]n the rare occasion that she has cause to mention my father, her voice changes and her singsong tone becomes halting as she spits out her words” (5-6). In Chile, Emilia also realizes that she carries this bitterness within her, but she is able to let it go, choosing to burn her mother’s angry letter to her father instead of delivering it once she sees the toll his sins have had on him.

Francisco Claro, or Don Pancho, is Molly’s husband and Emilia’s “true father,” as she calls him (116). He runs Aztec Pride, a school in the Mission District. He is a proud father and views Emilia as “his perfect princess to be utterly incapable of misbehavior” (7). Emilia frequently thinks of her father and the many interests she shares with him, including dime novels. She is grateful for his lessons and the ways in which he treated her as full of endless potential, a rarity in a time that did not see women in many professions. Pancho Claro and Molly Walsh are both static characters, and their support for Emilia serves as an important part of the foundation of her character. Their support for her work as a writer is tempered only by their fear of her being in danger, and Emilia often thinks of them when she feels lonely or in need of comfort.

Gonzalo Andrés del Valle is Emilia’s biological father, but he ignored Molly’s pleas when she realized that she was pregnant. A member of the prominent Chilean del Valle family, Gonzalo himself lived in San Francisco for a while, which is when he met Molly, but he returned to Chile not long after abandoning her. A man who, in the past, racked up many debts, Gonzalo “was a pauper, but he continued to live as if he were a prince” (125), according to his aunt Paulina. As he aged, he turned to religion for comfort and as a way of grappling with his wrongs in life. 

When Emilia meets Gonzalo, he is overcome by sadness at his treatment of Molly. While Gonzalo himself has already undergone a change in character, his behavior prompts Emilia to reconsider her relationship with him. Her decision to comfort him and become the “angel of [his] salvation” shows that she is unwilling to hold a grudge, especially one that did not begin with her (123). Ultimately, her relationship with Gonzalo and his legal acknowledgment of her as his daughter pays off; it is his land that she inherits, providing her with a means of exploring her identity. As she notes at the end of Chapter 16, his “legacy is much more than fifty hectares of land, it is my roots” (278).