Female Narrator
The narrator and protagonist of the novel, her name is never actually revealed. A woman in her 20s-30s, she works as a freelance artist and is illustrating a children’s book during the course of the novel. She is stoic and guarded, not often showing her emotions openly. She grew up on an island in a remote area of Québec with her mother, father, and older brother. As English speakers, they were further separated from the French-speaking townspeople and the family lived an isolated existence.
She struggles with society’s expectations of women and femininity and lives unmarried with her boyfriend Joe. She tells us she abandoned her child with her ex-husband but this is later revealed to be a delusion. The truth is that she had an unwanted abortion after being convinced by her lover, an already married man with a family. Her false memories have been a way for her to cope with the pain in her past.
She appears to delve further into madness after being left alone on the island, having kept so many of her emotions bottled up over the years.
Anna
Anna is a friend of the narrator and the only other female in their party. She is married to David and at first appears to have a great marriage. However, as the story progresses, it is revealed that their marriage is far from what the narrator had imagined.
Anna often feels victimized by David, who is condescending and bullying towards her, and they have both had extramarital affairs. She must adhere to David’s rules, such as always wearing makeup and having him treat her like an idiot or a child. Yet despite all this, Anna still takes David’s side throughout the story and cannot fathom actually leaving him. She in turn is condescending toward the narrator during their trip, tarnishing their friendship.
David
David is the husband of Anna and the person in the group that suggests they stay longer on the island, rather than only going for the day. He works in adult education teaching a communications class and is also working on a film he calls Random Samples. He likes to brag about his artistic endeavor, but doesn’t actually show much talent or deep thought. He is also extremely anti-American.
David does not show much respect toward women. He is condescending to both his wife and the narrator and tends to only ever give consideration to his own wants and needs. He has openly been unfaithful to his wife, and continually makes sexual innuendos toward the narrator in front of his wife. He is extremely bullying and controlling toward his wife, often making negative comments about her weight and her intelligence. Although he sees himself as the obvious leader of the group, the narrator does not actually hold him in any high regard—though, ironically, she does see him as the closest in personality to herself.
Joe
Joe is the narrator’s boyfriend. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he works as a pottery teacher to supplement his income while working on his personal pottery, which the narrator finds ugly. He is surly and gloomy and doesn’t verbalize his emotions, barely speaking much at all.
As the story progresses, he becomes more irritable as he grapples to understand the narrator’s own complexities. He suddenly proposes to her but is turned down and deeply angered by it. The narrator believes he doesn’t actually love her and is more in love with the ideal of marriage and what society expects of them. The novel only ever shows Joe through the narrator’s eyes so it is unclear what his true intentions are but eventually he comes back for the narrator rather than leaving her alone on the island.
Paul
Paul is an old acquaintance of the family whom the narrator has known all her life. He appears to have been friends with her father and is the one who first noticed he was missing. Although he is a French-Canadian, he speaks English. Like the protagonist's father, Paul represents the simple life and, like her mother, he is closely linked with nature and growing things.
Madame
Paul’s wife is referred to as “Madame” in the story. She was somewhat friendly with the narrator’s mother since their husbands were friends. However, since the narrator’s mother was an English speaker and Madame was a French speaker, the language barrier seems to have prevented a close friendship.
The Narrator's Father
A naturalist and an atheist who dislikes most people and thus cherishes the isolation of the island, the narrator's father goes missing, which is what prompts her trip. In the time after his wife's death, he did research on the local indigenous people's rock paintings in the area, which is most likely how he accidentally fell and died. The narrator remembers her childhood fondly, but her father's rationalism and rigidity have been difficult for her to fully embrace.
The Narrator's "Husband"
This man is not actually the narrator's husband; rather, he was her art professor and a married father she had an affair with. At his urging, she had an abortion when she became pregnant.
The Narrator's Brother
As a baby, he once came close to drowning, something that looms large in the protagonist's mind. As an older child, he demonstrated cruelty to animals. We do not know where he is or what he does now, but he has made it a point to be far from the island.
Claude
He is the son of the owner of the village motel and bar. In addition to helping his father run the bar, he works as a fishing guide.
Malmstrom
He works for the Detroit branch of the Wildlife Protection Association of America. He wants to buy the land and build a retreat on it.
Evans
He is a "laconic" American who lives in the village; the group hires him to take them to and from the island.
The Narrator's Mother
A sanguine and thoughtful parent, the narrator found her mother's cryptic answers to her big questions beguiling. Her mother loved nature, especially the jays, and abhorred hospitals, which is unfortunately where she died of an illness she kept hidden from her family. The narrator believes her mother has a secret or a gift for her.
