Phyllis Grove
Phyllis is the central character in the novel, and she tells her story to the unnamed narrator several years later. Phyllis is a young woman living with her father, a doctor by profession, in Dorset, England. Phyllis is a beautiful woman, and when she first meets Humphrey, he falls in love with her. Humphrey comes from a rich, respectable family of high social standing. When people later learn that Phyllis is engaged to Humphrey, they get shocked because that contradicts the norms and societal expectations. A respectable man like Humphrey is expected to marry from a first-class family to maintain his status. However, Phyllis does not mind this societal expectation, and she hopes to get married to Humphrey.
Later, Humphrey leaves the town for an assignment in a far town, and Phyllis believes the rumors that he has dumped her because of her lower social class. In a few weeks, a young man called Matthäus, a soldier, is posted near the garden wall. Phyllis finds this young man handsome and irresistible, and she falls in love with him. They meet several times, and she is convinced he is the right man for her. However, she is engaged to Humphrey, a man who loves her, but she does not have affection for him. Therefore, Phyllis finds herself in a dilemma.
Matthäus Tina
Matthäus Tina is the young German soldier posted to work near the garden wall, who later meets Phyllis. Matthäus is handsome, and Phyllis falls in love with him. When Matthäus learns that Phyllis is engaged to Humphrey, he arranges to escape with her. However, the escape plan is thwarted when Humphrey returns with a gift to apologize to Phyllis.
Humphrey Gould
Humphrey is a respectable young bachelor from a high social standing who falls in love with Phyllis. Despite Phyllis coming from a lower class, Humphrey loves her, and he proposes. Phyllis is engaged to him even though she does not know if she loves him. A few days later, Humphrey leaves town, and rumors spread very fast that he has left Phyllis, which prompts her to fall for Tina. Later, Humphrey returns with a present to apologize to Phyllis.
Dr. Grove
Dr. Grove is the father of Phyllis, and he lives with his daughter in England's countryside. Dr. Grove is not a rich man despite being a professional doctor because his income is greatly reduced due to his philosophical meditation. Therefore, he moves with his daughter to live in the countryside among the lower-class people because he cannot afford the expensive life in town. When Phyllis is engaged to Humphrey, her father is happy and asks her to keep the promise and wait for him to come.
The narrator
The narrator is an unnamed person from England's countryside, where the story is set. Phyllis tells her story, and the narrator listens carefully. At the time Phyllis is telling the narrator her story, she is 75 years while the narrator is a young man. Years later, the unnamed man narrates her story.
