The Narrator
The narrator is the central figure of Peaches, whose reflections on childhood and family life guide the story. He struggles with the elusive nature of memory and attempts to reconcile fragments of his past. Through his eyes, readers explore the themes of identity, perception, and the ambiguity of recollection. He is both observer and participant, offering insight into the behavior of others while questioning his own interpretations. His introspective nature makes him a lens through which the philosophical undertones of the story—such as the relationship between reality and memory—are examined.
The Mother
The mother is both nurturing and complex, embodying care, creativity, and occasional ambiguity. She protects the narrator physically and emotionally while introducing him to folklore and stories that blur reality and imagination. Her actions, from tucking him in against the cold to sharing tales of misfortune and morality, reveal a multi-dimensional figure whose influence shapes the narrator's understanding of family, fear, and morality. Her character also underscores themes of maternal authority and the subjectivity of personal experience.
The Father
The father's presence is felt through absence and authority. Often away during wartime, he represents discipline, structure, and societal expectations. Even when physically absent, his influence dominates household dynamics. When he appears, his strictness catalyzes pivotal events, such as the narrator's journey with his mother pushing the pram of peaches. He exemplifies how both presence and absence mold a family and highlight tensions between authority and independence.
The Brother
The narrator's brother provides contrast to the protagonist's reflective and contemplative nature. His temperament, independence, and eventual distance from the household reveal the divergent paths of siblings and the role of familial hierarchy. His limited presence emphasizes the narrator's focus on memory and perception, highlighting how some relationships fade in significance over time.
The Peach Man
This family acquaintance introduces elements of curiosity, desire, and social complexity into the story. His interactions with the mother subtly expose adult relationships, social hierarchies, and the nuances of temptation. Though peripheral, he influences the narrator's understanding of human behavior and morality, representing external forces that affect the family dynamic in the father's absence.
The Nun (Distant Relative)
The nun's tragic story of marginalization and despair symbolizes the fragility of human life and the consequences of societal pressures. Narrated by the mother, her experience exemplifies how personal narratives shape memory and understanding, reinforcing the story's meditation on memory, reality, and storytelling.
The Cousins
The cousins contribute brief but impactful anecdotes that emphasize childhood fear, folklore, and exaggeration. They reinforce the narrator's understanding of inherited stories and the way familial narratives shape perception and imagination.
