The Country Doctor
The doctor is the central character in the story, and he is also the narrator. The doctor is generally kind and dedicated to his work, attempting to see a sick patient more than ten miles away in the middle of a snowstorm. The doctor is, however, a quintessential example of an unreliable narrator, as his first-person point of view frames the bizarre events of the story. The doctor, for example, discovers two horses and a groom in the pigsty of his own house, when he believed his only horse to be dead. A number of other surreal encounters follow in which the doctor remains a mostly passive figure, describing what occurs around him without intervening. The surreal mood of the story suggests that the doctor is not narrating an actual experience but is indeed representing a dreamlike or unconscious state.
Rosa
Rosa is the country doctor's servant girl. She is a helpful and virtuous young woman, but out of desperation to see the sick patient, the doctor leaves Rosa with the predatory groom. The doctor thinks about Rosa throughout the story, worrying for her safety and feeling guilty for his having left her behind. Toward the end of the story, the doctor notes that Rosa is beautiful, suggesting the doctor's latent sense of desire for his maid.
The Groom
The groom – or person who cares for horses – appears just as the doctor is certain he will not be able to find a horse. The groom is predatory, assaulting Rosa as soon as he sees her, and animalistic – he even crawls out of the pigsty on all fours. The doctor ultimately regrets leaving Rosa behind with the groom as he knows the groom will rape Rosa in his absence.
The Patient
The patient is a young man whose parents claim is severely ill. When the doctor arrives, it appears as though the patient is perfectly fine, and the doctor considers the call a false alarm. However, the patient's sister appears with a bloodied cloth, leading the doctor to discover a gruesome, worm-infested wound on the patient's hip. The doctor assures the patient he will be fine, but secretly knows the young man is dying.
