Blake
Blake lives in Shady Hill, a suburb of New York City, and commutes back and forth to his office in Manhattan every day. He is slender, with brown hair, a pale face, and gray eyes. He is married with children, and has an acrimonious relationship with his wife. He has many short-lived affairs with insecure women. Blake is very sensitive to social customs and norms: he dresses monochromatically, he looks down upon renters, and he is comfortable with a broken marriage simply because he believes all husbands and wives act this way.
Miss Dent
Miss Dent is a young woman with dark hair and eyes, and a timid voice. Blake hires her as a secretary and after three weeks on the job, they sleep together. Blake then fires her and doesn't hear from her again until she follows him onto the train one rainy day and threatens to kill him. Readers learn about Miss Dent's character only through Blake's narcissistic eyes. He considers her to be a deeply insecure, pathetic woman. She confides in him that she has spent a lot of time in the hospital; he later realizes she is insane.
Louise
Louise is Blake’s wife. They do not have a happy marriage, and Blake often ignores her. For the last nine years, they have slept in separate bedrooms, divided by a bookcase. Blake states that he is unconcerned about her feelings or the state of their relationship, but we never hear directly from Louise. Instead, the story contains several hints that Louise is deeply unhappy with her life at home: one evening, Blake comes home to find her having drunk a copious amount of gin. She also often confides in their neighbor, Mrs. Compton, about her troubles at home.
Mrs. Compton
Mrs. Compton is one of Blake's neighbors. Blake assumes she does not like him because she is a confidante of Louise's, and therefore hears the secrets of their unhappy marriage. She is on the same five-forty-eight train back to Shady Hill from Manhattan as Blake, Mr. Watkins, and Miss Dent.
Mr. Watkins
Mr. Watkins is another neighbor of Blake’s. Blake regards him with contempt because he transgresses social norms that Blake appears to strongly believe in: the Watkins, for example, are not property owners. Instead, they rent their house in Shady Hill. Mr. Watkins dresses less normatively than Blake, such as by wearing sandals on the train. He also makes his living from commercial art, which Blake seems to look down upon. Mr. Watkins is also on the five-forty-eight home from the city alongside Mrs. Compton, Blake, and Miss Dent.
Charlie
Charlie is Blake’s oldest son. He is friends with Mr. Watkins' son, and spent a lot of time at the Watkins' house until Blake had a word with Mr. Watkins to prevent it.
