Mr. Waythorn is a wealthy New York stockbroker who has recently married the twice-divorced Alice. He possesses unstable sensibilities and places a high value on societal respectability, control, and domestic comfort. He takes great pleasure in what he views as the ownership of his socially adept and perfectly accommodating wife.

Alice is a twice-divorced woman recently married to Mr. Waythorn. Society has largely excused her past divorces, attributing the failures to her former husbands. She acts as the ideal society wife, displaying consistent calm and a remarkable ability to soothe her husband's nerves while managing complex social optics.

Gus Varick is Mrs. Waythorn's second ex-husband. Society believes he was simply not meant for matrimony. He appears entirely unflappable, moving through life with an easy confidence and an apparent dedication to sensory pleasures like good food and brandy.

Mr. Haskett is Alice's first husband, a man society assumed was a brute due to the obscurity of their divorce. In person, he is a mild-mannered, unassuming man who wears cheap ties and shabby hats. He gave up a profitable business in Utica simply to remain close to his daughter in New York.

Lily is Mrs. Alice Waythorn and Mr. Haskett's young daughter. Her illness at the start of the story acts as the catalyst for her father's visits to the Waythorn residence. She requires a governess and frequent care from nurses.

Sellers is Mr. Waythorn's business partner at his New York stockbroker firm. His sudden affliction with gout forces Waythorn to step in and handle his professional affairs, leading to unexpected meetings.