The unnamed 15-year-old narrator is a French girl living in colonial Vietnam. She attends a boarding school in Saigon and harbors ambitions of becoming a writer rather than pursuing a math degree. Though her family lives in near poverty, her status as a white colonist provides her with significant social privilege, ensuring she always has access to food and servants. She is highly perceptive about social expectations and consciously uses her appearance to attract wealth and establish independence from her family.

The lover is a 27-year-old wealthy Chinese man originally from Fushun. Having recently returned from studying in Paris, he drives a chauffeured limousine and lives in an affluent home in Saigon. He falls deeply in love with the narrator and acts generously with his wealth, frequently taking her and her family to expensive dinners. However, he remains financially and socially constrained by his strict father, who controls his inheritance.

The narrator's mother works as a headmistress but struggles to keep her family out of poverty. She suffers from severe, fluctuating depressive episodes that deeply impact the household environment. She displays contradictory behavior throughout the story, strictly enforcing physical punishment within the home while fiercely protecting her daughter's reputation in public. She heavily favors her eldest son despite his destructive actions.

The narrator's eldest brother is an abusive, manipulative presence in the household. He struggles to maintain employment, relies heavily on their mother for financial and emotional support, and uses opium. He exhibits extreme pride and racism, refusing to speak to the lover even while exploiting the man's wealth for expensive dinners. He maintains psychological control over everyone in the family except the narrator.

The younger brother is a quiet presence within the chaotic family dynamic. He suffers under the aggressive dominance of his older brother and the family's near-poverty conditions. The narrator feels a profound, spiritual connection to him, regarding him as the only person she truly loves unconditionally.

The lover's father is a highly wealthy and influential Chinese businessman in the colonized city. He holds complete financial control over his son's future and inheritance. He strongly opposes his son's involvement with the narrator due to racial differences, intending instead for his son to marry a Chinese heiress and keep the family wealth separated from white colonists.

Hélène is a beautiful and sincere young woman who attends the same boarding school as the narrator. She comes from a respectable family that intends to arrange an early, suitable marriage for her. She genuinely cares for the narrator and expresses concern over how the rumors of the affair might damage her friend's social standing.

The vice-principal is an administrator at the French boarding school in Saigon. Tasked with maintaining the institution's decorum, she confronts the narrator about the gossip surrounding her inappropriate behavior. She drops the issue when the narrator's mother intervenes and defends the girl.

The madwoman is a homeless local resident of Saigon. She wanders the streets and occasionally acts aggressively, such as chasing the young narrator. For the narrator, the woman acts as a terrifying physical manifestation of madness, representing the mental instability the narrator fears inheriting from her own mother.

Marie-Claude is a refined high-society lady living in Paris. She possesses a reputation for beauty, intelligence, and grace. Her presence in the narrator's adult life indicates the narrator's successful transition into wealth and elevated social status far away from colonial Vietnam.

Betty is another high-society acquaintance of the narrator in Paris. Like Marie-Claude, she is known for her elegance and social standing. She represents the sophisticated, independent lifestyle the narrator aspired to achieve during her impoverished childhood.