- Marian MacAlpin is the protagonist and the first-person narrator during Parts One and Three of the novel.
- Ainsley Tewce is Marian's roommate; she works in an electric toothbrush repair shop.
- Peter Wollander, a lawyer, is Marian's boyfriend, and later, fiancé.
- Len Slank is a bachelor friend of Marian's from college; he works in television.
- Clara Bates is another friend from college; Clara dropped out second year to marry Joe and now has three children
- Duncan is a graduate student in English with whom Marian has an affair.
- The three office virgins: Lucy, Emmy, and Millie
- Mrs. Bogue, head of the research department at Marian's firm
- Fischer Smythe and Trevor, Duncan's roommates, also graduate students in English.
- The Lady Down Below is Marian and Ainsley's landlady, allegorically representing traditional female ideals.
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