Bertrand Carnéjoux

Bertrand Carnéjoux, the forty-five-year-old host of the dinner party and husband of Martine Carnéjoux. He is the editor in chief of Ring, a newspaper, and author of the book Sober Pleasures, an experimental novel. He has been having affairs with Marie-Ange Vasgne, Armande, the chambermaid, and his secretary, Colette. Throughout the dinner, he reminisces about Marie-Plum, the only woman he ever loved. He once slept with Lucienne Osborn, almost twenty years ago, but he does not recognize her until near the end of the party. He obsesses about his own death, giving the pair of jeweled cufflinks he would be buried in to Jérôme Aygulf. Bertrand is jealous of the dance Martine had with Gilles Bellecroix and fears there may be an attraction between them.

Martine Carnéjoux

Martine Carnéjoux, nicknamed Pilou, the hostess of the dinner party and wife of Bertrand. She is twenty-five years old and has two children, Jean-Paul, age four, and Rachel, age two, who form the emotional nucleus of her life. Shortly before the party, she had a nose job. She knows about her husband’s numerous affairs, but despite this, she has been faithful to him throughout their ten-year marriage. She had a memorable dance with Gilles Bellecroix the previous January and is sexually attracted to him.

Marie-Ange Vasgne

Marie-Ange Vasgne, a twenty-three-year-old French Canadian model. A country girl from Quebec, she was raped by a redheaded man when she was fourteen years old. This rape altered the course of her life. She became a prostitute, using men to advance her career. Eventually, she moved to France and became a magazine model. She comes to the dinner party hoping to seduce John Osborn so that he will give her a part in a movie he is directing. He does not show up. Throughout the dinner, she fantasizes about sleeping with all the men there, especially the wealthy Roland Soulaires. By the end of the party, she decides to go home with Jérôme Aygulf, another redhead. She imagines marrying him and settling down.

Gilles Bellecroix

Gilles Bellecroix, a failed novelist but successful screenwriter. He is forty-nine years old and has been happily married for ten years to Bénédicte, who is twenty years younger. Devoted to Bénédicte and their three-year-old son, Nicolas, he has never been unfaithful. He dislikes writing screenplays and wants to go back to writing novels. Throughout the dinner party, he thinks about sleeping with Martine Carnéjoux. In the 1930’s, Eugénie Prieur was his lover.

Jérôme Aygulf

Jérôme Aygulf, a third-year law student and childhood friend of Martine Carnéjoux’s younger sister. He is a twenty-year-old leftist who dislikes the bourgeois atmosphere of the dinner party. He loves Martine, but she does not love him. He was invited to this dinner solely because another guest could not attend. He resides with his grandparents and feels hypocritical because he lives off their money. Toward the end of the dinner, his latent homosexuality manifests itself in his unspoken attraction for Bertrand Carnéjoux.

Roland Soulaires

Roland Soulaires, the president and director of the Loubski mines. He is forty-three years old, fat, bald, wealthy, and unmarried. Throughout his life, he has suffered from bouts of impotence and tends to fear women because of this. During the dinner, he is preoccupied with stock prices and discusses literature and history with Eugénie Prieur. Recently, Marie-Louise temporarily “cured” his impotency, and he fantasizes about sleeping with Marie-Ange Vasgne.

Eugénie “Gigi” Prieur

Eugénie “Gigi” Prieur, a sixty-five-year old, once beautiful, famous fixture at all the best society parties. Throughout the dinner, she debates French history and literature with Roland Soulaires....