An unnamed, unreliable narrator living an isolated existence in a room in the ancient city of Rey. He earns a living by repeatedly painting the same image on pen cases for his uncle to sell in India. Deeply alienated from society, which he dismisses as the "rabble," he relies on opium and wine to manage his deteriorating mental and physical health. His days blur together in a feverish state as he fixates on an ethereal vision and avoids his immediate family.

A haunting, recurring patriarchal figure in the narrator's life and visions. He first materializes physically as the narrator's uncle who visits on the thirteenth day of the new year, looking like a distorted, aged reflection of the narrator himself. He wears a shawl and turban, possesses white hair, and represents an uncanny, inescapable traditional presence in the narrator's isolated world.

An idealized female figure who appears both in the narrator's art and in his recurring visions. She initially manifests as a poetic, untouchable ideal within the scene he paints on pen cases, wearing a black dress and remaining perfectly silent. Her sudden physical presence outside his window triggers a profound shift in his reality, sending him on a desperate search through the city to find her again.

The narrator's first cousin and spouse, whom he married out of a sense of obligation to his aunt. She maintains a strained, loveless marriage with the narrator, openly rejecting his physical advances. While he bitterly resents her and suspects her of having multiple affairs, she occasionally displays moments of direct care, such as tending to him when he falls ill with a severe fever.

A tall, grey-haired woman who serves as the narrator's devoted nanny and aunt. Having raised him since childhood after he was abandoned, she is the only character for whom the narrator expresses genuine affection. She actively tends to his physical ailments with traditional remedies, administers his medicine, and recounts family histories while he is bedridden.

A local tradesman who prepares meat for the town. The narrator observes him daily from his window, watching as he meticulously slaughters sheep brought in by carriage. He represents the visceral, physical reality of the outside world that the narrator entirely avoids.

A relative by marriage who exists in the periphery of the narrator's confined life. He occasionally visits the narrator and holds a highly pragmatic, transactional view of the family's living situation, anticipating changes in household ownership based on the narrator's declining health.

An older patriarchal figure in the narrator's extended family. His brief presence is unsettling to the narrator, as he exhibits mannerisms and clothing choices that echo the recurring, anxiety-inducing older men in the narrator's mind.

A medical professional called upon by Nane-joon to treat the narrator's physical deterioration. He relies on specific oils and natural extracts, attempting to cure an illness that the narrator believes is rooted far deeper than mere physical ailments.