Narrator
The nameless insomniac protagonist of the book, the Narrator, is a co-creator of Fight Club, along with Tyler Durden. The Narrator works as a recall specialist for the automobile industry, a job he despises. He attends support groups for individuals struggling with terminal diseases, though he is physically healthy. At these meetings he meets Marla Singer, another individual seeking human contact. Like the Narrator, Marla is also faking her illnesses. The Narrator later learns that he and Tyler are actually the same person. Tyler is a persona that the Narrator adopts, unwittingly. As the book progresses, the Narrator and Tyler find themselves at odds with one another, forcing the Narrator to confront his feelings for Marla and to stop Tyler from taking over his life.
Tyler Durden
Co-creator of Fight Club, Tyler is the charismatic and vicious leader of Fight Club who eventually starts Project Mayhem. He starts out as the Narrator's friend but becomes the main antagonist when the Narrator realizes that he and Tyler are actually the same person and that Tyler is a persona adopts.
Marla Singer
A young woman who the Narrator encounters at the support groups. She too attends them searching for some sort of meaningful human interaction and, like the Narrator, is faking her illnesses. She begins a relationship with Tyler, which upsets the Narrator. Tyler becomes an increasing threat to the Narrator and to Marla.
Big Bob/Robert Paulson
A middle-aged former steroid abuser who the Narrator meets at a testicular cancer survivor support group. Bob is the first to encourage the Narrator to cry at the support group meetings. The Narrator meets Bob again after leaving the groups when Bob becomes a member of Fight Club. Bob is killed while on assignment for Project Mayhem, prompting the Narrator to try to shut down Fight Club and Project Mayhem.
Space Monkeys
The term the Narrator uses to describe the anonymous members of Project Mayhem.
Bartender
A bartender that the Narrator encounters in Seattle while searching for Tyler. He calls the Narrator "Mr. Durden" and leads the Narrator to discover that he and Tyler are actually the same person.
The Narrator's Boss
The nameless Boss is presented as a corporate lackey interested only in advancing up the ladder. His patience is tested throughout the novel as the Narrator's work performance and appearance become increasingly poor. Inspired by Tyler, the Narrator threatens the Boss, which buys him time and privacy at work. The Narrator comes to realize that, under the guise of Tyler, he has booby-trapped his Boss's computer monitor and killed him.
Raymond K. Hessel
A convenience store clerk that the Narrator threatens with death during a "human sacrifice" assignment from Tyler. The Narrator holds a gun to Raymond Hessel's head and asks him what he really wanted to do with his life. Hessel admits he wanted to become a veterinarian but there was too much schooling involved. The Narrator takes his driver's license and tells Hessel that he will check in on him in a few weeks. If he is not working towards a return to school, the Narrator says he will kill him.
The Mechanic
A member of fight club who specializes in car repair and who claims to be able to hotwire any vehicle. The mechanic picks up the Narrator from work and drives him to complete a "human sacrifice" assignment as well as retrieve liposuctioned fat for use in making soap. He prepares a birthday cake for the Narrator. During the drive the two men struggle to control the car as the Narrator attempts to crash the vehicle deliberately.
Chloe
A woman the Narrator meets at a support group. Chloe has brain parasites and is facing death. She makes aggressive sexual advances toward the Narrator, explaining that she really just wants to have sex again before she dies. Later, the Narrator hears of her death through her sister, Glenda.
Police Commissioner of Seattle
The Police Commissioner begins to crack down on fight club locations around the city of Seattle, prompting Tyler and other members of Project Mayhem to pay him a visit. They convince the Commissioner to call off his investigation by threatening him with castration. Tyler tells the commissioner he will mail one of his testicles to the New York Times and the other to the Los Angeles Times, thereby destroying the Commissioner's reputation and any chance for a political career.
Madam
The host of an elaborate party that Tyler worked at as a caterer. Tyler recounts the story of how he drove her to an emotional breakdown by leaving a note in her bedroom claiming that he had urinated in one of her expensive perfume bottles. Madam becomes unhinged, throwing all the bottles in the toilet and questioning the value of her relationships with her husband and friends.
The Detective
A police detective investigating the explosion at the Narrator's condominium. After speaking to the Narrator over the phone about the suspicious nature of the explosion, he asks him not to leave town.
Angel Face
A young man who joins Fight Club. He is ambitious in his commitment to Fight Club and later also to Project Mayhem. He suffers a vicious beating at the hands of the Narrator, leaving his once handsome face swollen and deformed.
