Claire
Claire was married and had a child, but then her husband left her suddenly. It's 1959, and her resources are severely limited. Her nine-year-old, Louis, is a bright-eyed child with strong passions and desires, and Claire works to keep him innocent, not wanting him to have to suffer more than he has to. Secretly, she suffers severely from her abandonment and the frustration of her life.
Louis
If Claire represents experience, then Louis represents an innocent point of view. He is an easy kid to like. He sees the world as a beautiful adventure, and he often feels he is in a movie. He loves movies and wonders about art and entertainment. When he meets Marcelle and Pelo, he has an opportunity to see the gritty reality that the drama of life contains, from a third-person point of view. Still, what he sees in their marriage changes him.
Marcelle
Marcelle and Pelo are friends of the family that Louis spends time with. Marcelle and Pelo have miscarried, and Marcelle takes that grief to heart. She is often stricken with grief. She can often be more sad than Louis understands. Although they are friends, Marcelle has a tough time relating to Louis when she is thinking about her own lost child, because Louis is himself a reminder of the son she didn't get to have.
Pelo
When Louis meets Marcelle and Pelo, he notices that they're obviously struggling with something. Marcelle wears her grief on her sleeve, but Pelo hides it, even from himself it seems. Then, when he is overwhelmed, he panics and often resorts to mean anger. He drinks to take the edge off, but that makes him even more explosive. Louis watches Pelo through instable seasons where he sometimes loses his control over himself.
