Mrs. Kathleen Drover

The narrative focuses on Mrs. Kathleen Drover's thoughts and behaviors. When she discovers a letter addressed to her in her deserted London house, she reminisces about her unnamed soldier-lover from World War I. She is acutely conscious of her environment: the atmosphere, the weather, and a pervasive sense of oddness. The letter on the table drives her to ponder the various ways it might have arrived there.

Overwhelmed by the bizarre nature of her situation, Mrs. Drover hurries upstairs to inspect herself in the mirror. Her “most normal expression was one of controlled worry, but of assent. . . . [She] had . . . an intermittent muscular flicker to the left of her mouth, but . . . she could always sustain a manner that was at once energetic and calm.” To her family, Mrs. Drover appears as a model of stability and reliability. However, the letter unsettles her, and she begins packing her belongings in a “rapid, fumbling-decisive way.” Whether she is haunted by the vengeful spirit of her soldier-lover or is experiencing neurosis remains ambiguous, but she ultimately collapses at the story's conclusion.

Soldier-Lover

Although the soldier-lover is only seen through Kathleen Drover’s recollections, he plays an important role. He treats her with little regard, painfully pressing her hand against his uniform buttons when she tries to touch him and making a promise, “I shall be with you . . . sooner or later. You won’t forget that. You need do nothing but wait.” He is later reported as “missing, presumed killed” in World War I.