Elena is a bright, educated young woman who has successfully authored a book and escaped her impoverished Neapolitan roots. She moves through the intellectual circles of Italy while preparing for her marriage to a university professor. Despite her academic and professional achievements, she battles deep feelings of inadequacy.

Lila is Elena's fiercely intelligent and unpredictable childhood friend who remains in Naples. Estranged from her abusive husband, she lives with her companion Enzo and works physically demanding shifts to support her young son. She possesses a natural charisma that allows her to organize and influence those around her, even without formal education.

Pietro is a mild-mannered, successful young university professor who comes from an influential family. He expects a highly traditional marriage and grows uncomfortable whenever Elena pursues intellectual independence. He prefers routine and often avoids political conflicts at the university.

Nino is an intellectual and academic from Elena's childhood neighborhood who frequently travels for his studies. He is highly opinionated and charismatic, drawing the attention of numerous women. While he deeply criticizes his own father's behavior, he shares his habit of leaving behind former partners and children.

Michele belongs to the wealthy, criminal Solara family that controls much of the Neapolitan neighborhood's underground economy. He uses intimidation and financial leverage to maintain absolute power over the locals. He harbors a deep, intellectual obsession with Lila, viewing her as the only woman who truly equals him.

Bruno is the owner of a meat-processing plant near Naples. He inherited the business from his family and runs it with little regard for the safety or comfort of his workers. He feels entitled to the attention of his female employees and uses his position to intimidate them when they reject him.

Enzo is a quiet, steadfast man from the neighborhood who offers Lila a safe home after she leaves her husband. He works during the day and dedicates his evenings to studying correspondence courses in computer engineering. He admires Lila's intelligence without trying to control it.

Pasquale is a passionate, working-class communist who fiercely advocates for union rights. He frequently attempts to organize the workers at the salami factory and draws Lila into the political struggle. He harbors resentment toward those he feels abandon their working-class roots for bourgeois comforts.

Nadia is the daughter of a respected high school teacher and grew up with middle-class privileges. She involves herself heavily in communist politics and student protests to offset her guilt over her comfortable upbringing, frequently clashing with those she views as insufficiently radical.

Gigliola is a childhood friend of Elena and Lila who marries into the wealthy Solara family. She suffers under her husband's blatant infidelity and cruelty, leading a miserable existence despite her material wealth. She recognizes the shared indignities women face in their community.

Adele is Pietro's mother and a prominent figure in the publishing and intellectual world. She is affluent, sophisticated, and highly connected. She acts as a mentor to Elena, helping her select furnishings and doctors while navigating her new upper-class life.

Mariarosa is Pietro's sister, deeply involved in student protests and feminist politics in Milan. She operates in direct contrast to her brother's traditionalism, hosting revolutionary meetings in her apartment and introducing Elena to feminist literature.

Stefano is Lila's estranged, wealthy husband who manages the family's grocery business. He maintains his status in the neighborhood through alliances with the Solara family and currently lives with his mistress, Ada.

Manuela is the matriarch of the Solara family and a feared moneylender in the neighborhood. She maintains control over the local economy with her infamous "Red Book" of debts, wielding quiet but absolute authority over her sons and the community.

Professor Galiani is Elena's former high school teacher who belongs to the educated middle class. She is highly cultured and frequently hosts political and intellectual gatherings, showing a distinct fascination with Lila's raw intellect while largely ignoring Elena's formal achievements.

Alfonso is Stefano's younger brother and a former classmate of Elena and Lila. He feels alienated by the violent masculinity expected of men in his neighborhood and feels a deep, quiet kinship with Lila, wishing he could emulate her.

Marcello is the older brother in the Solara family. Like his brother, he uses his wealth and family influence to dominate the neighborhood, though he occasionally displays a more agreeable demeanor with those he wishes to court.

Elisa is Elena's younger sister who remains in the family's working-class Neapolitan neighborhood. She grows weary of her family's poverty and seeks stability and comfort, leading her toward relationships with wealthy local figures.

Silvia is a young mother involved in the student protests alongside Mariarosa. She struggles to balance her political activism with the demands of caring for her infant son without the father's support.

Franco is Elena's former boyfriend from her university days in Pisa. He has become deeply entrenched in radical student politics and acts dismissive of Elena's new lifestyle, which he views as excessively bourgeois.

Nunzia is Lila's mother. She visits her daughter in her new home but harshly criticizes her choices, blaming Lila for the poverty the Cerullo family endures since she left her wealthy husband.

Eleonora is Nino's wife. She speaks with a harsh Neapolitan accent and appears entirely disconnected from her husband's intellectual pursuits, providing him with domestic comfort instead.

Albertino is the young son of Nino and Eleonora, brought along on his father's academic trips.

Mirko is the infant son of Silvia and Nino Sarratore, raised entirely by his mother after his father abandoned them.

Dede, officially named Adele after her grandmother, is Elena and Pietro's first daughter. Her birth brings Elena significant anxiety regarding her capabilities as a mother.

Elsa is Elena and Pietro's second child, named against Pietro's traditional wishes to honor Elena's own mother.

Clelia is a nanny employed by Elena and Pietro to help care for Dede, affording Elena time to pursue her intellectual interests.

Gennaro is Lila's young son. He grows up in a tense environment, and his mother constantly worries about securing proper educational opportunities for him to escape their poverty.