Minke is an 18-year-old Javanese boy and the only Native student attending the prestigious H.B.S. prep school in Surabaya. Exceptionally bright and fluent in Dutch, Malay, and Javanese, he writes articles for local newspapers under a pseudonym. He uses a nickname bestowed by an aggravated teacher to avoid revealing his aristocratic birth name. He frequently wrestles with his identity, feeling torn between the Dutch colonial culture that educated him and his traditional Javanese heritage.

Annelies is the stunningly beautiful teenage daughter of Herman Mellema and Nyai Ontosoroh. Raised entirely on the Wonokromo agricultural enterprise, she lacks friends or peers and spends her days managing animals and plantation workers. Despite her linguistic abilities and striking appearance, she is emotionally delicate and highly dependent on the affection and protection of those close to her.

Nyai Ontosoroh, born Sanikem, is the Native Javanese concubine of Herman Mellema. Sold to Herman by her father at the age of fourteen, she used her position to educate herself in Dutch, literature, and commerce. She is now the formidable, self-reliant manager of the massive Wonokromo agricultural business, working tirelessly to ensure her daughter never suffers the same lack of autonomy she experienced.

Herman is a wealthy, bearish Dutch entrepreneur who purchased Nyai Ontosoroh when she was a young teenager. He successfully expanded his agricultural and dairy businesses in Surabaya before withdrawing completely from the operation. He currently lives as a recluse who frequently abandons his family to spend time at a neighboring brothel.

Robert is the Indo son of Herman and Nyai Ontosoroh. Having graduated from prep school, he refuses to work on the family plantation and instead wanders aimlessly, expressing a desire to join the British Navy. He actively resents his Native heritage and continuously belittles Minke for being a full-blooded Javanese.

Robert is a mixed-blood Indo student at the H.B.S. prep school. He considers himself socially superior to Native Javanese students and insists he will only marry a girl of pure European descent. Despite his claimed preferences, he manipulates social situations to position himself near wealthy or beautiful women.

Jean is a French military veteran and artist who lost a leg fighting for the Dutch in Aceh. He operates a furniture business in partnership with Minke. Drawing from his own tragic romantic past, Jean offers Minke steady, non-judgmental guidance on love and prejudice.

Miss Magda is a young, freckled, unmarried literature instructor at the H.B.S. prep school. She is a progressive thinker associated with the 'Indies for the Indies' movement, advocating for the colony to hold equal standing with the Netherlands. She openly praises Minke's writing and defends him against the prejudices of the school administration.

Dr. Martinet is the European family physician for the Mellema household. In addition to practicing general medicine, he studies the psychological aspects of healing and writes articles for English magazines. He relies on candid conversations to understand the root causes of his patients' ailments.

Darsam is a fearsome, swarthy former Madurese fighter who serves as Nyai Ontosoroh's most trusted servant and primary enforcer. He constantly carries a sheathed machete and manages the security of the Wonokromo plantation, ready to use deadly force against any threat to the household.

Minke's father is a traditional Native local governor, known as a bupati. He expects strict adherence to Javanese customs and royal deference from his family. He resents Minke's modern Dutch education and independence.

Minke's mother is a kind, traditional Native woman who provides emotional grounding for her son. She frequently reminds Minke of the Javanese principles she instilled in him during childhood, warning him against abandoning his own people for European comforts.

Minke's older brother aligns with his father's traditional views and harbors deep judgment toward Minke's progressive lifestyle. He adheres strictly to the bureaucratic path expected of Javanese nobility.

Herbert is the Dutch "assistant resident," a powerful colonial overlord in the local government. Impressed by Minke's intellect, he invites the boy into his inner circle. He holds progressive views about the future of the Indies but still maintains underlying colonial biases regarding Native potential.

Miriam is the educated, progressive Pure-Blood daughter of the Dutch assistant resident. She writes lengthy letters to Minke, sharing her father's theories on Indonesian history and encouraging Minke to become a voice that raises the consciousness of his people.

Sarah is the sister of Miriam and daughter of Herbert de la Croix. She shares her family's progressive vision for the Dutch East Indies and actively works to position herself as a confidant and advisor to promising Native leaders like Minke.

Babah is a Chinese immigrant who owns the opulent brothel immediately next door to the Mellema plantation. He eagerly lures vulnerable men into his establishment, supplying them with alcohol, luxury, and trafficked sex workers to secure their patronage.

Maiko is a Japanese sex worker trafficked through various brothels across the Pacific Rim. She suffers from a highly virulent, incurable disease, causing her value in the trafficking market to consistently drop. She hides her condition in order to survive and earn enough money to eventually return home.

"Fatso" is a nickname Minke gives to a mysterious Asian man who persistently stalks him around the city. Highly agile and adept at hand-to-hand combat, he easily parries attacks and evades capture, casting a constant shadow of paranoia over Minke and his allies.

Maurits is Herman Mellema's legitimate Dutch son, born to the wife Herman abandoned in the Netherlands. He works as a Dutch engineer and travels to Surabaya to assert his dominance, demanding possession of his father's estate and condemning his father for living with a Native concubine.

Mr. Telinga is Minke's landlord in Surabaya. Though an ordinary citizen, he bravely attempts to physically defend Minke from a stalker, demonstrating strong loyalty to his young tenant despite being entirely outmatched in combat.

Mrs. Telinga is Minke's attentive landlady. She provides basic medical care and meals for him when he is unwell, acting as a maternal figure while he lives away from his biological family in Surabaya.

Jan is a student at the H.B.S. prep school who maintains a friendship with Minke even after Minke becomes a social pariah. He confides in Minke that he is also secretly Native, helping Minke navigate the rumors spreading through the school.

May is the young, mixed-race daughter of Jean Marais. Raised exclusively by her disabled father after the tragic death of her mother, she lives a highly isolated existence with almost no social network or peers her own age.

Sastrotomo is a low-level clerk whose desperate desire to become a well-paid sugar factory paymaster drives him to grovel before Dutch officials. He eventually barters his own fourteen-year-old daughter to Herman Mellema to advance his career ambitions.