Emily Herrick

Emily Herrick, the novel’s heroine. As she turns from fifty to fifty-one, she undergoes a significant shift in consciousness. She realizes that she is one of the “superior women” who, like the heroines in the novels of Jane Austen and George Eliot, see more and know more than others. She is the most intelligent member of her circle, but the knowledge she acquires is accompanied by a loss of innocence. Unlike the flatter and more comic characters around her, Emily exhibits intellectual powers and moral sensitivity. These give her the capacity to learn and grow. Emily’s feminist perspective reflects the author’s.

Nicholas Herrick

Nicholas Herrick, her brother, a short, stocky man twenty years her senior. He has always looked to his sister as his helpmeet and companion. He is the owner of a boys’ school, but he contributes to its welfare only by presiding over school prayers. Those around him do the work for which he takes credit.

William Masson

William Masson, a tall and lanky don at Herrick’s old college. There is talk of his marrying Emily, but he is paired with another don at the college, to whom he is devoted.

Richard Bumpus

Richard Bumpus, William’s companion, a short, dark man in late middle age. He also is a don. His literary aspirations are more a pretension than a reality.

Mr. Merry

Mr. Merry, Nicholas’ partner and head of the school. He and his wife bully the forty boys in their care partly to compensate for their own lack of status. They illustrate the author’s theory that those who serve are exploited as servants.

Mrs. Merry

Mrs. Merry, his wife and helpmeet. She is referred to as Mother and is a caretaker of others; she is, however, shown to skimp when it comes to the welfare of her charges.

Miss Basden

Miss Basden, a middle-aged teacher and school matron who shoulders more than her share of responsibility. She illustrates the author’s view that it is the underlings and servants who do the actual work of the world.

The Reverend Peter Fletcher

The Reverend Peter Fletcher, a frail, elderly pastor with a patronizing attitude toward women.

Theresa Fletcher

Theresa Fletcher, his wife, a large old woman who is a confidante of Emily Herrick’s. Through Emily, she acquires a deeper knowledge of the world and its ways.

The Reverend Francis Fletcher

The Reverend Francis Fletcher, Peter’s oversized nephew. He is old-fashioned concerning women but capable of some sensitivity toward them.

Lydia Fletcher

Lydia Fletcher, Peter’s sixty-year-old sister, an inveterate humanitarian. As are the other Fletchers, she is a convenient foil for the freethinking Herricks.

Henry Bentley

Henry Bentley, the father of two of the children who attend Herrick’s school. He is memorable as a domestic tyrant.