Mrs. Eszter is the domineering and ambitious president of the local women's committee in the unnamed provincial town. Physically imposing and ruthlessly pragmatic, she views the town's encroaching decay not with fear, but as a political vacuum she can exploit. She spearheads a civic cleanup movement titled "A TIDY YARD, AN ORDERLY HOUSE" as a pretext to consolidate power and establish a new authoritarian system.

János is a gentle, otherworldly young postman known in town for his deep fascination with astronomy and cosmic harmony. While others succumb to anxiety over the town's failing infrastructure, he moves through the streets in a state of naive, childlike wonder. He is deeply devoted to his mentor, György Eszter, and frequently acts as his primary link to the outside world.

György is a respected former music school director and musicologist who has retreated from society in a state of profound intellectual despair. He is obsessed with the belief that the entire system of Western music, specifically the Werckmeister system of equal temperament, is a foundational lie that compromises natural harmony. He keeps his piano in a dissonant state as a protest against the artificiality of human systems.

The Prince is a diminutive, mysterious demagogue who travels with the circus. Though rarely seen, he wields incredible magnetic power over the anxious crowds gathering in the town square. He preaches a philosophy of pure destruction, weaponizing the citizens' existential dread and directing their formless anxiety into coordinated violence.

The Mob functions as a collective entity made up of the town's frightened and directionless citizens. Drawn together initially by the spectacle of the giant whale, they are united by a shared sense of alienation and dread. They serve as the raw material for authoritarianism, easily molded into a tool of senseless destruction by charismatic leadership.

Mrs. Plauf is an anxious, class-conscious citizen desperate to maintain a sense of order in a disintegrating world. She relies on her meticulously kept, plant-filled apartment as a personal fortress against the terrifying, unpredictable elements taking over the town. Her fraught journey into town serves as the primary introduction to the pervasive dread gripping the local populace.

The town's Chief of Police is a compromised and ineffective authority figure struggling with alcohol addiction and personal grief. His inability to maintain order directly contributes to the chaos taking root in the streets. He acts as a pawn for Mrs. Eszter, who leverages his institutional power and personal weaknesses to advance her own ambitions.

Harrer is a local stonemason who rents a small room in his backyard to János Valuska. He acts as a sycophantic informant and eager enforcer for Mrs. Eszter, desperate for her approval. He represents the opportunism and moral decay that thrives in the town's climate of fear and uncertainty.

The Director is the pragmatic businessman in charge of the mysterious traveling circus that arrives in town. He transports the massive taxidermied whale and the enigmatic figure known as The Prince. Despite his imposing physical presence, he struggles to control the nihilistic fervor his attractions inspire among the restless crowds.

Advertised as the world's largest whale, this colossal, taxidermied creature is the central attraction of the traveling circus. It serves as a bizarre and inexplicable intrusion into the landlocked town, acting as a blank screen onto which the anxious citizens project their fears. Its lifeless scale inspires profound awe in Valuska and mounting tension among the restless crowds.

Colonel Peter is the ruthless military commander who arrives to crush the riots and place the town under military authority. He represents the swift and brutal replacement of the collapsing civic government. He quickly forms an alliance with Mrs. Eszter, cementing a new authoritarian regime over the broken community.

Mrs. Harrer is a local woman who works as a cleaner for the reclusive György Eszter. She serves as a frantic messenger, bringing horrifying reports from the outside world into his isolated sanctuary and alerting him to the grave danger facing his friend Valuska.

The Unshaven Man is an aggressive passenger wearing a broadcloth coat on the emergency train. He misinterprets Mrs. Plauf's attempts to fix her clothing as a sexual invitation and follows her. When rejected, he furiously insults her, demonstrating the hostility and social breakdown occurring in the public sphere.

The Interpreter also works as a ticket collector for the traveling circus. He serves as the crucial mouthpiece for the mysterious Prince, translating the diminutive demagogue's chaotic commands and nihilistic philosophy to The Director and the waiting followers outside.

The two young sons of the local Chief of Police are left unattended during the growing civic unrest. When Valuska is sent on an errand to put them to bed, he finds them playing with a revolver, a deeply disturbing sight that exposes the town's complete loss of safety and adult supervision.