The autobiographical voice of the poem is a woman in her early thirties undergoing a radical personal and artistic transformation. Initially constrained by societal expectations and her roles as a wife and mother, she actively refashions herself into someone self-defined and liberated. She struggles with the pressure of past great thinkers but eventually finds comfort in a female-centric, domestic community.

Alfred is a Harvard University economics professor who marries Rich early in her career. He represents the traditional domestic and academic establishment. Their marriage undergoes significant strain as Rich's political and personal views become increasingly radical during the 1960s.

Michelle is a Jamaican-born novelist and editor. She forms a domestic partnership with Rich that lasts the rest of Rich's life. Their partnership aligns with Rich's shift toward positioning her sexuality as both a personal and political issue.

He is a renowned pathologist of Jewish heritage who raises his daughters in his wife's Christian faith. He actively pushes his daughter to become a literary prodigy, planting the seeds of ambition that drive her early career.

She is a Southern Protestant woman who raises her daughters in the Christian faith. Her background provides a contrast to the Jewish heritage of her husband, adding to the complex religious and cultural identity her daughter develops later in life.

The younger sister of Adrienne Rich. She grows up in Baltimore alongside her sibling, raised in the Christian faith of their mother despite their father's Jewish heritage.

Auden is a world-famous poet who serves as a judge for the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. He selects Rich's debut collection, an act that provides initial validation for her early work and tethers her to the traditional literary establishment.

Audre Lorde is a prominent Black feminist poet and activist writing in the confessional genre. She shares a commitment to using poetry as a vehicle for political consciousness and intersectional feminism, challenging racial divides within the movement.

Walker is a fellow feminist writer and nominee for the National Book Award. She participates in a collective protest and celebration of women's voices in the literary world, demonstrating the power of female community.

Wittgenstein is a 20th-century Austro-British philosopher whose work focuses on reality and language. In the poem, his massive intellectual legacy serves as an overwhelming historical force that the young speaker struggles to escape.

An 18th-century English philosopher and foundational feminist thinker. Her pioneering work creates a daunting standard that initially paralyzes the speaker with the anxiety of influence before she learns to define herself.

Jouvet is a 20th-century French actor and director. The speaker compares her early, unoriginal artistic efforts to being a dead photograph of Jouvet playing a role, emphasizing her lack of authenticity.