Louise Mallard
The protagonist of "The Story of an Hour," she suffers from heart troubles but experiences a new sensation of freedom upon the death of her husband.
Brently Mallard
In "The Story of an Hour," he is a kind husband to Louise and is assumed to die in a train accident.
Josephine
In "The Story of an Hour," she tries to help her sister Mrs. Mallard cope with Brently Mallard's death.
Richards
In "The Story of an Hour," he is Brently Mallard's friend and gently breaks the news of Brently's death to Mrs. Mallard.
La Folle
In "Beyond the Bayou," she is deathly afraid of the world beyond the bayou but is forced beyond in a crisis involving her beloved Chéri.
P'tit Maître
In "Beyond the Bayou," he is the plantation owner and father of Chéri, who in his youth scared the wits out of La Folle after being badly injured in a skirmish.
Ma'ame Pélagie
After the burning of the old mansion at Côte Joyeuse, she retreats to living in the antebellum past and dreaming of the day when the mansion will be restored. She holds iron control over her younger sister and would do anything to save Pauline's life.
Pauline
She is the younger sister of Ma'ame Pélagie and lives under the influence of her sister and the past, but the arrival of her niece La Petite revives her. The potential loss of La Petite drives her to thoughts of dying.
La Petite
The niece of Pauline and Ma'ame Pélagie, she initially resigns herself to living at Côte Joyeuse but soon realizes that she cannot live so disconnected from the present day.
Désirée
In "Désirée's Baby," she is an orphan raised by the Valmondés who has married Armand, the love of her life. Unfortunately, her baby's appearance leads to questions of her ancestry that imperil her marriage and life.
Madame Valmondé
The adoptive mother of Désirée, she does not care about the identity of Désirée's parents and regards her adopted daughter as a gift to be loved.
Armand Aubigny
In "Désirée's Baby," he marries Désirée after falling in love with her, but his bigotry and cold nature cause trouble in their marriage when the birth of their child raises questions about his wife's racial descent.
Mrs. Baroda
In "A Respectable Woman," she is happily married but is somewhat disturbed by the arrival of Gouvernail, to whom she is physically attracted.
Gouvernail
In "A Respectable Woman," he visits the Baroda plantation and becomes an object of interest to Mrs. Baroda.
Gaston Baroda
The husband of Mrs. Baroda in "A Respectable Woman," he regards Gouvernail as a great friend and cannot understand his wife's apparent antipathy.
Nathalie
In "The Kiss," she tries to obtain Brantain's wealth by marrying him while simultaneously keeping Harvy's love in an affair.
Brantain
In "The Kiss," he is an "insignificant and unattractive" man but has enough wealth to attract Nathalie, with whom he is in love.
Harvy
The love interest of Nathalie in "The Kiss," he is passionate and attracted to Nathalie but eventually decides that having an affair with a newlywed is too dangerous.
Mrs. Sommers
In "A Pair of Silk Stockings," she obtains fifteen dollars and, rather than spending it practically, uses it to temporarily experience affluence and the fulfillment of desire for the first time in many years.
Edmond
In "The Locket," he keeps Octavie's locket as a memento as he goes to war, although others joke that it is a voodoo luck charm.
the fourth soldier
In "The Locket," he steals Edmond's locket in case it is actually a luck charm to protect him from death in the Civil War.
the priest
In "The Locket," he administers last rites to dying soldiers and, upon finding Octavie's locket, returns it to her with news of Edmond's death.
Octavie
In "The Locket," she is devastated to hear of Edmond's death, and she decides in spite of the beauty of spring to remain in mourning.
Judge Pillier
The father of Edmond in "The Locket," he encourages Octavie to give up her mourning and find joy in the renewal of spring.
