Olga
She is the protagonist of this story. Olga is a woman in her thirties, a mother of two children, and an unhappily married woman. When her husband leaves her, Olga struggles with intense mental anguish as she tries to piece her life together without him.
Mario
Mario is Olga's husband who leaves her for another woman. He immediately has an affair with the daughter of one of his colleagues whom he tutored as a teenager. Determined to divorce his wife, Mario remains unsympathetic to her plight upon his departure. Eventually, he gains joint custody with her of their two children.
Carla
Carla is the woman for whom Mario leaves Olga. She is a young, twenty-year-old, the daughter of his co-worker. When she was a child and he was fifteen, they met together for tutoring sessions.
Gianni
Gianni is Olga and Mario's son. He becomes violently ill one night, but his mother struggles to get him to a doctor. In the end, he is alright.
Ilaria
She is Olga and Mario's daughter. She's a very young child when her father leaves them.
Caranno
He is Olga's neighbor. In a moment of desperation and self-loathing, she seduces him. He is unable to keep an erection and leaves that night. At the end of the novel, however, he runs into Olga again. This time she is surprised by how likable and generous he is. They end up pursuing a relationship with one another.
