Sophie Bentwood
Protagonist and narrator, Sophie is a housewife living in Brooklyn. Dissatisfied with her marriage, she's already had an affair to which news her husband seems apathetic. Convinced the marriage is pointless and loveless, she refuses to accept any responsibility for changing her circumstances. This attitude of defiant powerlessness, even apathy, extends to all parts of her life. For example, she is bitten by a stray cat at the beginning of the novel and refuses to treat the wound properly even after it becomes severely infected. In short, she's given up trying to improve her life. Eventually she and her husband are driven to a point of no return where they mutually find the courage to take responsibility for themselves, grow up, and fix their marriage. In the end, Sophie starts seeking happiness for herself instead of accepting unfortunate circumstances as inevitable.
Otto Bentwood
Sophie's husband Otto is the other main character of the book. He's a reserved man, careful never to express too much emotion. His lack of communication, however, is directly -- if partially -- responsible for the rift between he and his wife. They may as well live on different planets for all the attention they give their marriage. Additionally Otto is dissatisfied with his job as an attorney because of conflicts with coworkers. He also hates living in Brooklyn, as does Sophie. After Sophie finally agrees to go to the hospital to treat her wound, Otto realizes how close she came to death. The shock is enough to motivate him to become an active participant in life once more. He resolves together with Sophie to fix their problems.
Charlie Russel
Charlie is Otto's partner, a part owner of the legal firm where they both work. Unfortunately the two do not work well together. For all of Otto's stoicism, Charlie has an emotional outburst. He's an erratic person, constantly worked up about something. His influence is too much for Otto, who is desperately trying to preserve his detachment. After some particularly nasty fights, Charlie attempts an apology, but Otto eventually leaves.
