Young Woman/Woman/Helen Jones
The character’s name is not revealed until midway through the play and at various times in the script she is referred to as Young Woman and Woman. She works in a busy office and has caught the attention of the officer supervisor. The story follows her trek through finding out he wants to marry her through marriage and birth of a child, an affair with a stranger and finally being on put on trial an executed for the murder of her husband.
George H. Jones
The officer manager. He is revealed as being smitten with the young woman who arrives late for work in the opening scene. Before long they are married and he is learning she is complicated. They grow distant from each other as he is excited about the birth of their daughter, but she doesn’t even want to see the baby. Finally, he is busy leading a life pursuing wealth. Ultimately, his head will be the target of a bottle filled with rocks.
Helen's Mother
Initially, Helen is seen sharing an apartment with her mother. She is rather distracted, self-involved and pretty much ends most of her assessments of her daughter with the observation that she is crazy.
Richard Roe
Richard Roe is a stranger that Helen meets when she and another girl from the office sneak out for the evening to meet two men in a speakeasy. This, it should be noted, while she is married to George and some time after giving birth. Roe shares his story of killing two Mexican bandits who had taken him prisoner by getting them drunk, filling the bottle with rocks and bashing their heads in. Rather than being appalled, Helen gets sexually excited by the dangerous aspect of Roe and goes back him to his room for the evening. Before she leaves, she asks if she can have the bowl filled with rocks and a lily floating in water. This off-the-cuff romantic gesture will become the engine of her downfall that ends in the electric chair.
