Horse Café. She meets her third husband, Glen Waddell, at the café when he comes in to eat with her brother Earle.

Glen Waddell

Glen Waddell, Anney’s third husband. the youngest son of the well-off Waddell family, owners of the Sunshine Dairy, Glen is full of insecurities and self-doubt. Although his oldest brother is a respected lawyer and another brother is a dentist, Glen can barely hold a job and moves from one low-paying truck-driving position to another. Glen is neglected by his father, whom he wants to shock and, paradoxically, earn respect from by marrying into the disreputable Boatwright family and proving himself as a man who carries a knife and embraces violence. Despite a small, thin appearance, Glen is known for his enormous hands and his extreme, sudden temper.

Reese

Reese, Bone’s younger sister. A pretty child who is never mishandled or abused by Glen, Reese is Bone’s sometime ally and playmate.

Shannon Pearl

Shannon Pearl, Bone’s friend. A short, fat, half-blind albino, Shannon carries with her a rage and resentment not unlike Bone’s. Although her parents pet and adore her, most others find her repulsive.

Raylene Boatwright

Raylene Boatwright, Bone’s aunt. A short, stocky, broad-shouldered woman with closely cropped hair and an affinity for masculine dress, Aunt Raylene lives apart from the rest of the family, alone in a house on the river outside town. the one love of her life, a woman she met while working at the carnival, left Raylene for the sake of her child.

Ruth Anne Boatwright is about six years old when the story begins and nearly thirteen when it concludes. Glen's abuse starts shortly after he marries her mother, during a time when Anney is in the hospital giving birth to his son, who tragically dies. Even more devastating, Anney learns she can no longer have children. Bone, like many children her age, does not tell anyone about the abuse because she does not understand what has happened. Daddy Glen ensures she feels responsible for the abuse. She is a deprived child, lacking sufficient food and a safe home environment with trustworthy people.

Having experienced safety and love in the past, Bone finds it challenging to discern Daddy Glen’s true intentions. She feels anger towards Glen and her mother but is too young to comprehend and express her emotions. From the start of her life, Bone occupies an unusual position within the family due to her illegitimacy. As she grows older, various events increasingly distance her from the family core, amplifying her feelings of anger and rejection.

When her mother stands by and allows Glen to beat her, and later continues to accept Glen even after he rapes Bone, her alienation from the family reaches its peak. By the age of thirteen, Bone can finally recognize her anger and rejects the mother she knows she cannot change.

For Anney, the red stamp on Bone's birth certificate labeling her as illegitimate is unbearable. Every year, she attempts to obtain a birth certificate without the stamp, but she fails each time. The stamp symbolizes everything she despises about how others perceive her, yet she cannot alter her behavior. The courthouse clerks find her efforts amusing and do not take her seriously. This issue is so crucial to her that she consults an attorney, who also finds it amusing. He returns half her money and advises her to wait until the ordinance is repealed. Ironically, the courthouse burns down first. Anney believes the most valuable gift she could give Bone is a birth certificate without the red "illegitimate" stamp.

Anney is trapped by her own circumstances, unable to make decisions that would benefit Bone. As a poor woman with little education and no job skills, her options are limited. She marries, but a freak car accident leaves her widowed with two small children, in a worse situation than before. When she decides to marry the "somewhat sinister Glen," who was also a victim of child abuse, she seals her and Bone's fate in a terrifying situation. Anney is blind to Glen's evil nature. She loves her daughters and wants a home where they are well cared for, but in reality, Glen perpetuates the abuse he suffered onto Bone.

Anney makes excuses for Glen's inability to provide for the family. Bone refuses to recognize Glen as her father, telling him, "I'd rather die than go back to living with you." Her refusal to accept his last punishment is a final insult to Glen and marks the first time she has had the courage to resist him. Even after Glen rapes Bone, Anney finds it impossible to leave him. The only thing she can do for Bone is to give her an unmarked birth certificate.

Glen Waddell fully understands that he cannot harm Anney in any way. When Glen first notices Anney, he and Earle Boatwright are "workmates." He compliments Anney's appearance, unaware that Earle is her brother. The expression on Earle's face warns Glen to treat Anney with respect. Throughout his life, Glen has endured mental abuse from his father and ridicule from his brothers for his "hot temper, poor memory, and general uselessness." Earle is the man Glen aspires to be, and he now seeks Earle's approval, viewing Anney as his entryway into the Boatwright family. Determined to "shame daddy and shock his brothers," Glen decides to marry Anney, as the Waddells consider the Boatwright family "poor white trash." Bone and Reese face prejudice from Glen's family, prompting Bone to retaliate by stripping the rosebuds from the Waddell garden. Glen's marriage to Anney turns into a competition with Bone for Anney's attention and affection, and Bone's refusal to acknowledge him infuriates him, leading to his abusive behavior.

Among Anney's brothers, Uncle Earle is the most vividly portrayed. He is Bone's favorite uncle, frequently visiting Anney and the girls after the death of Lyle, Reese's father and Anney's first husband, and before Anney's marriage to Glen. However, after the marriage, Earle's visits become increasingly rare. Bone regrets this, as Uncle Earle "made them laugh." Without him, Bone has no one to intervene in the beatings. Raylene takes Bone to visit Earle at the county farm, where Bone gains a small sense of self-assurance when Earle shows her a blade he managed to steal from the leather shop. This newfound pride and strength lead Bone to break into Woolworth's, her way of retaliating against those making her life unbearable. It is Earle who initiates Glen's punishment when Aunt Raylene discovers Bone is being beaten.

Aunt Raylene is "different." She lives alone by the river, supporting herself by selling produce she grows and jams and jellies she makes. The bend in the river at the edge of her property yields treasures that she cleans, repairs, and sells for extra income. As a young woman, Raylene had a love affair with another woman who could not leave her husband and child. This affair profoundly affected both their lives, leaving Raylene to continue her life alone.

Aunt Alma Boatwright
Aunt Alma is married to Wade and has several children. Despite his numerous infidelities, she remains devoted to her husband. When she first discovers Wade's unfaithfulness, she leaves him and moves into an apartment with the children. Bone observes that during this time, Alma looks better than ever and seems to enjoy her independence. However, when difficulties with the children arise, she returns home. Alma is heartbroken when her youngest child passes away. Her husband refuses to be intimate with her and have another baby, leading her to physically assault him. She is utterly devastated as she has devoted her life and love to Wade. In her fury, she destroys many of their possessions and waits at home with a razor in her pocket, intending to kill him. Eventually, she allows him to return home.

Anney Boatwright
Anney is Bone's mother, one of eight children born to a poor Southern family. Uneducated and underemployed, she became an unwed mother at fifteen and a widow with two children by nineteen. Anney is desperate for love and a stable family life. She marries Glen Waddell, believing he will be a loving father to her two daughters. Glen, however, disappoints her—he even sexually molests Bone (though Anney is unaware of this) while she is in the hospital delivering their stillborn child. Despite Glen's overt cruelty toward Bone, Anney is determined to make the family work and refuses to acknowledge his behavior, instead blaming her own daughter for the violent attacks.

Like many characters in the novel, Anney exhibits conflicting traits. She is independent and determined, as shown by her numerous attempts to get an unmarked birth certificate for Bone, the length of her courtship with Glen, and her willingness to prostitute herself to feed her hungry children. At the same time, she is weak, helpless, and even cruel, as evidenced by her insistence on staying with Glen despite his terrible treatment of her child. Her decision at the end of the novel—to leave town with Glen rather than stay with her daughter—is incomprehensible to Bone (and many readers). However, before leaving, she tries to give her daughter a new identity by presenting Bone with a clean birth certificate, free of the "illegitimate" stamp.

Uncle Beau Boatwright
Like Bone's other uncles, Beau drinks excessively and has a violent temper. He never liked Glen, mainly because Glen doesn't drink. Alongside his brothers, he severely beats Glen after discovering his violence toward Bone. After Glen rapes Bone, Beau buys a new shotgun, ready to use it if he encounters Glen.

Aunt Carr Boatwright
Aunt Carr is the only Boatwright of her generation to leave South Carolina. She was in love with Wade, but he chose Alma instead. Carr quickly found a husband and convinced him to move to Baltimore, Maryland, where his family resided. She returns to South Carolina annually to visit. She often remains an outsider, frequently siding with Wade in disputes and opposing her sisters.

Uncle Earle Boatwright
Uncle Earle is Bone's favorite uncle. When he can, he supports Anney's family financially. Known as Black Earle in three counties, Raylene attributes this to his "black black heart." He is a man of extremes; although devoted to his family, his wife leaves him, taking their three children, due to his infidelity. Women find Earle attractive, and he is always involved with a young woman whom he eventually leaves. Throughout the novel, he spends some time incarcerated in the "country farm," or jail.

Uncle Nevil Boatwright
Uncle Nevil is reputed to be the quietest man in Greenville County. Early on, he senses that Glen could easily turn bad. After Bone's rape, he spends his nights scouring the county in search of Glen.

Aunt Raylene Boatwright
According to Bone, Aunt Raylene has always been different from the other Boatwright sisters. Raylene leads a private, solitary life with few friends. In her youth, she was wild, joining the carnival, posing as a man, and falling deeply in love with a woman. After returning to South Carolina, she settled outside of town. She quit her mill job after twenty years and now makes a living by retrieving trash from the river, cleaning it, and selling it roadside. As Daddy Glen's abuse worsens, Bone finds solace and strength in Aunt Raylene, spending more time with her. It is Raylene who discovers Bone's bruises and shows her brothers, prompting them to beat Glen. After the rape, Raylene takes Bone into her home, striving to make her feel safe and helping her understand that her mother loves her despite staying with Glen.

Aunt Ruth Boatwright
Ruth is the eldest of the Boatwright sisters and played a significant role in raising her younger siblings. She is a nurturing woman but somewhat estranged from her own children. As Aunt Ruth's health deteriorates from a terminal illness, Anney sends Bone to assist her. Bone spends most of the summer with her. Aunt Ruth expresses deep concern for Bone, asking if Daddy Glen ever sexually abuses her, but Bone cannot reveal the painful truth. Ruth dies before the novel concludes, and at her funeral, the extended family becomes aware of the severity of Glen's beatings.

Ruth Anne Boatwright
See Aunt Ruth Boatwright.

Bone
Bone is the central character in the novel, with the narrative spanning her life from age five to nearly thirteen. Despite growing up in poverty, Bone exhibits a natural intellectual curiosity. She is a gifted storyteller, captivating her numerous cousins with the tales she invents. Additionally, she has a passion for reading, using her dishwashing earnings to buy second-hand books. Although she is initially drawn to evangelical Christianity for the salvation it promises, she eventually recognizes its deceit.

Bone is born out of wedlock to fifteen-year-old Anney. After Anney marries Glen, Bone becomes the target of his anger and jealousy. Glen soon begins to sexually and physically abuse her. Partly due to Glen's actions, Bone grows into an independent, rebellious, and sexually aware child. However, she also internalizes guilt for his unwanted advances and feels deep shame. Her conflicted emotions lead her to act out; for example, she refrains from telling Aunt Alma about Glen's abuse even when questioned directly, yet she still provokes Glen intentionally. Bone's emotional turmoil is exacerbated by Anney, who also blames Bone for Glen's behavior. When the family finally discovers Glen's brutality towards Bone, her uncles beat him severely enough to require hospitalization. Even then, Bone continues to apologize to her mother for Glen's suffering.

Following this beating, the family leaves Glen, but Bone is convinced that her mother will return to him. Anney claims she will only take Glen back if she is certain Bone will be safe. Knowing that such assurance is impossible, Bone decides not to live at home and opts to stay with Aunt Alma instead. This decision leads to Glen's final assault. When he visits Alma's house, he pretends he only wants to talk, but in his fury and desire to dominate Bone, he violently rapes her. Although Anney witnesses the culmination of this attack, she still chooses to abandon her daughter and stay with Glen. Bone returns from the hospital to Aunt Raylene's house, feeling that the events of her young life have already shaped her into the woman she is destined to be: a Boatwright woman.

Bone's Real Father
Bone knows very little about her biological father, not even his name. Anney refuses to discuss him, and Granny chased him out of town when she discovered Anney was pregnant. He only saw Bone once, during a visit eight days after her birth. Granny informs Bone that he has a wife and six children, works as an insurance salesman to African Americans, and has never been incarcerated.

Deedee
Deedee is Bone's cousin and one of Ruth's daughters. She has a strained relationship with her mother, resenting Ruth's persistent illness and feeling neglected and unloved. When Ruth's condition worsens, Travis persuades Deedee to come home and help by promising to cover her car payments. After Ruth's death, Deedee initially refuses to attend the funeral, but Raylene insists she does.

Granny
Granny shares family stories with Bone and moves between the homes of Alma, Ruth, and her sisters. She was also responsible for driving Bone's real father out of town.

Grey
Grey, one of Alma's twin sons, is Bone's cousin. Bone prefers Grey over Garvey due to his "sweetness." Grey becomes Bone's partner in crime when they break into Woolworth's.

Lyle Parsons
Lyle Parsons is Reese's father and Anney's first husband. He aspires to adopt Bone and support his growing family, especially with Anney expecting another child. Despite his efforts, his earnings from the gas station are insufficient, forcing Anney to work during her pregnancy. To make ends meet, he takes a job at the stockcar races. Tragically, he dies in a car accident on his way home.

Shannon Pearl
Shannon Pearl is a short, overweight, unattractive, and half-blind albino girl, unpopular among the children. Her father runs a religious store and books gospel performers, while her mother designs costumes for gospel singers. Bone recognizes Shannon from revivals and befriends her, admiring her stubbornness and independence. Initially, Bone believes Shannon has a saintly nature but soon discovers that Shannon, like herself, harbors deep anger towards those who have wronged her. After a falling out, Shannon later invites Bone to a barbecue at her home, where Bone witnesses Shannon's tragic death when a can of lighter fluid explodes in her hands.

Reese
Reese is Bone's younger half-sister by about five years. She shares a close bond with her loving grandmother until Glen disrupts it. Unlike Bone, Glen does not abuse Reese and treats her kindly, which Bone and others notice. Despite this, Reese exhibits early sexual precociousness, with violent fantasies from a young age. While Reese and Bone are close in childhood, their relationship deteriorates as they grow older. Reese resents the strain Bone's situation with Glen places on the family.

Uncle Travis
Uncle Travis, Ruth's husband, struggles with alcoholism but is devoted to his wife. Bone notes that she never saw him sober until he underwent surgery to remove his liver and half his stomach at seventeen.

Daddy Glen Waddell
Glen Waddell is the stepfather of Bone and Reese. Unlike the Boatwrights, Glen hails from a middle-class background. His family members are professionals rather than blue-collar workers; his mother is a homemaker, and his father owns a dairy. One of his brothers is a lawyer, and the other is a dentist. Glen, however, is the family's black sheep, having failed at various jobs and, according to his brothers, marrying "trash." His family looks down on him, merely tolerating his presence at family gatherings. He is always striving for his family's approval, especially his father's, but never succeeds. Many characters in the novel believe his lack of familial love drives him to cling to Anney and treat Bone so harshly.

Glen meets Anney through Uncle Earle and is immediately captivated by her. He courts her persistently, waiting two years for her to agree to marry him. Although he vows to be good to her and her children, he breaks that promise with his first act of sexual abuse against Bone. As he continues to fail in supporting his "family," he directs his anger towards Bone. His ongoing assaults cause her to become more withdrawn, perpetuating and escalating the cycle of violence.

Many Boatwrights are wary of Glen, sensing his violent tendencies. When they discover his abuse of Bone, her uncles retaliate by attacking him. Fearing that Bone will take Anney away from him, Glen rapes her.

Uncle Wade Yarnall
Uncle Wade is Alma's husband, and he is habitually unfaithful to her.