Since The Bridge on the Drina is a story that is comprised of many smaller stories, there are many widely varied characters, many of which you can see by visiting the eNotes character list attached below. However, the most important character in this book is not a person, but the bridge itself. This novel tells the life story of the bridge, from its birth to its death (and all of the life that happens in between). It is the main character of the novel, as it is responsible for all of the actions that take place. It is the heart and the soul of the piece, and it takes on a life of its own in this story.

Another very important character is Mehmed Pasha Sokolli, the Grand Vizier who has the bridge built in the first place. He builds it on the Drina River, the last place he saw his mother when he was taken away from her as a boy. It is because of him that the bridge was able to unite two different cultures and open up a new world to each of them.

The rest of the characters (again, see attached) are the people responsible for building the bridge, and the people whose lives were changed by it. At the end of the day, though, it all comes back to the bridge, without which there would be no story at all.