Mr. Lindley
Mr. Lindley was first vicar of Aldecross. He came to that place with his wife, when he was 27. The life was never easy for him, but nevertheless he was proud of his status of the vicar. He had many children and no money to raise them, so, he educated them at home. The poverty was his only defect (at least, he thought so). And, in order to change this situation, he wasn’t against the marriage of his elder daughter Mary with new clergyman, Mr. Massy, whom he didn’t like, but who was rather wealthy. Mr. Lindley realized that it was wrong, but he persuaded himself that it was desire of her daughter to do so, and it gave him the feeling of relief.
Mrs. Lindley
Mrs. Lindley was a daughter of Cambridgeshire rector, who spent all the money he earned, so he left nothing for his daughter. The marriage with Mr. Lindley didn’t made her rich as well, and her feeling were deeply wounded, she blamed her husband of their problems, she was ashamed to go out, because all people, who had more money than she irritated her. Children in the family were born every year, “almost mechanically”, the narrator notices, and Mrs. Lindley didn’t care about them too much, in the end, she was so exhausted, that she felt ill, became an invalid and spent the rest of her life on the couch. She also didn’t mind Mary’s marriage, although she hated Mr. Massy, but money was the only thing that mattered for her. She regretted that her younger daughter, Louisa, didn’t want to marry some rich man, as Mary did, and hoped that Louisa and her fiancée Alfred would move somewhere out and she would see them as rare as possible.
Mary Lindley
Mary Lindley was the elder daughter of Lindley family. She was tall, good-looking, calm and smart. She never complained about her poverty and worked hard to earn some money for her family. She had never felt in love and when the short ugly Mr. Massy proposed her, she felt terrible, because he was disgusting for her, but he had money which meant much for her too. So, she accepted his proposal. Later she understood her mistake but it was too late to change anything. They had two children, but Mary was unhappy and she even wanted to die not to see her husband again.
Louisa Lindley
Louisa was the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lindley. She was a “short, plump and plain. She had her mother's heavy jaw, her father's proud brow, and her own grey, brooding eyes that were very beautiful when she smiled”. She was attractive blond lady, who had her own principles and rules. Louisa loved he elder sister and she was extremely disappointed when she found out that Mary was marrying Mr. Massy. She would never marry the person without love, it was her position. And she didn’t betray herself – she fell in love with Alfred and married him, it didn’t matter for her how much money he had, because she was in love.
Mr. Massy
Mr. Massy was the new clergyman. He was a young man, about 27 years old: “a small, chétif man, scarcely larger than a boy of twelve, spectacled, timid in the extreme, without a word to utter at first; yet with a certain inhuman self-sureness”. But, nevertheless his appearance was not his best feature, and he was weak physically, he had a great moral strength, he had a great power of will no one was able to controvert. He never thought that Mary didn’t love him, he was happy, he loved his children although they didn’t obey him.
Alfred Durant
Alfred was the youngest and the favorite son of Mrs. Durant. At 20 he run away and served his time in the Navy and it made a man of him. He loved and idealized his mother, the whole his life was polarized in her. He never had a relationship with woman, he was afraid of them. Alfred thought that he was not physically, but spiritually impotent and it was his biggest secret. When his mother died, Alfred felt broken, he couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t think of anything but of his mother, he felt miserable. At last, he decided to go abroad to Canada in order to “try the life”. But, when Louisa came to his place he suddenly understood that he didn’t want to let her go, he finally was himself, the beautiful feeling rose in his soul. It was love, and he was happy.
Mrs. Durant
Mrs. Durant was the mother of Alfred; she also had other sons, but they were dirty drinkers and only her younger son was another. She felt indignation when he run away to serve in the Navy and she was glad when her little boy finally came back. All her life was for Alfred, and when she was dying she pretended as if she felt better not to disappoint him.
