The Narrator
The unnamed Narrator is a woman who recounts her life through eight weeks in Berlin at the end of the war. She describes herself as a thirty year old "pale faced blonde always dressed in the same winter coat".[10] The Narrator lives alone at first in an abandoned apartment but then moves in with the Widow when the Soviets arrive. She was a journalist before the war that traveled to numerous countries and speaks different languages, including a bit of Russian and French. During the stay of the Soviets she is subject to numerous horrific rape attacks which leads her to seek a sexual relationship with lieutenant Anatol and then the Major in order get some sort of "protection" from all other Soviet soldiers. These relationships also give her access to food. After the Soviets leave, she works with German women to clear the rubble, clean clothes, and eventually finds a job with a Hungarian starting a press.
Widow
The Widow lives with the Narrator and Herr Pauli throughout the occupation of the Soviets. She is a fifty-year-old woman who lived a more bourgeois proper life before the war. During the occupation she shares house tasks and worries with the Narrator and understands the sexual relationships the Narrator has. The Widow looks up to Herr Pauli and eventually asks the Narrator to move out when Herr Pauli is frustrated of sharing food with the Narrator.
Anatol
Anatol is originally the Ukrainian lieutenant that the narrator seeks a sexual relationship with in order to avoid constant attacks by random Soviet soldiers. He is kind and very large and strong. He works in a dairy farm in Russia and is overall very uneducated and unrefined.
Herr Pauli
Herr Pauli is the Widow's tenant. From when he arrives from the war he mostly stays in bed and socializes with the Soviets that come in. He enjoys the goods that the Soviets bring but gets increasingly bothered by the Narrator's presence after her relationships with the Russians end and she eats the potatoes that belong to the Widow. He eventually asks the Widow to tell the Narrator to leave, which she does. Herr Pauli expresses his strong optimistic or pessimistic views on the recovery of Germany, which the Widow generally endorses.
Petka
Petka is a Soviet soldier that rapes the narrator. After raping the Narrator he commences his "Romeo babble" as he expresses how he likes her and insists on coming back often. He makes himself and his friends at home in the Widow's apartment where they eat and drink plenty, and do not exhibit any manners.
The Major
The Major is introduced to the Narrator by the pale blond lieutenant with the lame leg. The Major is very pleasant and courteous to the narrator and the Widow and Herr Pauli. While he wanted a sexual relationship with the Narrator, he made it a point for her to know that if his presence did not please her he would leave immediately. He shares plenty details of his life to the Narrator and has a consensual sexual relationship with her for the last days before the Soviets left. He provides the narrator, the Widow, and Herr Pauli with plenty of supplies.
