Character guide

Lucy Winter

major

Also known as Lucy, Lucy Merwent, Little Lucy, Miss Lucy

Lucy runs Rosedene's kitchen and household while her mother, Nannie, glides through the dining room pinning boutonnieres and claiming John's attention. She insists Jim is 'no extra trouble, ever,' yet her stillness at the table says otherwise. Her quiet endurance is the fault line along which the household's loyalties and resentments will eventually split.

John Winter

major

Also known as John, Winter, Dear John

John shares an office and an easy camaraderie with Jim Sprague, and a home with Lucy, Dimmie, and now his mother-in-law. He offers his train seat to strangers and his enthusiasm to Nannie's flattery, but reads Lucy's tired face as a funeral. His boyish warmth and artistic longing make him both lovable and dangerously suggestible.

Dimmie Nannie Merwent

major

Also known as Dimmie, Nannie, Poor Nannie, Dimmie Nannie

Nannie Merwent kisses John's cheek at the door, pins flowers on his lapel, and calls him 'poor boy' while her daughter cooks. She corrects Dimmie's boisterousness and claims she wants only to help, yet every gesture tightens her hold on the household. Her solicitous charm is the engine of the novel's domestic unease.

Uncle Jim

supporting

Also known as Jim, Jimmie, James, Old Jim

Jim listens as Miss Storms recites the nursery rhyme that gives the book its title, and admits, without spirit, that they are all blind mice. He is loyal to John, gentle with Dimmie, and entangled with the Merwent family in ways he cannot undo alone. His willingness to act on Miss Storms's 'flank movement' makes him the story's unlikely instrument of exposure.

James Sprague

supporting

Also known as Jim Sprague, Sprague, Jimmie

Jim Sprague sits beside John on the crowded suburban train, quietly correcting estimates while John quotes headlines and offers his seat to pretty strangers. He is the steady half of the firm — practical, reserved, slow to smile — and the Winters treat him as family, down to Dimmie's cry of 'Uncle Jim.' His restraint and his place at Rosedene's table make him both trusted insider and quiet observer.

Mrs. Merwent

supporting

Also known as Mrs. Merwent, Merwent

Mrs. Merwent treats Rosedene as a stage for her opinions — on Hedda Gabler, on Dimmie's noise, on Lucy's headaches — and John as an audience that owes her admiration. She bristles when Lucy laughs at her, then melts when John calls her naive. Her need to be the center of every room drives the household's slow, corrosive contest of loyalties.

Miss Nannie

minor

Also known as Nannie

A prim and proper spinster in the community.

Arthur Merwent

supporting

Also known as Arthur, Merwent

Arthur Merwent is Lucy's brother and a Russellville attorney who moves through his own marriage like a man executing a prepared brief, arranging witnesses and a residence in the state capital before his wife even understands the case against her. His one unguarded nerve is Lucy: when Nannie invokes her name, his cold fury finally breaks through, revealing a brother who has been watching his sister be driven from the house. His refusal to reenter the family home after filing makes him the quiet engine of the rupture that scatters the Merwent household and sets Lucy's future in motion.

Mamma

minor

Also known as Poor Mamma

A tender mother figure, possibly Lucy's mother-in-law.

Mr. Sprague

minor

Also known as The elder Sprague, Sprague

An older, stern patriarch of the Sprague family.

Mrs. Lockhart

minor

Also known as Lockhart

A local woman with a social presence.

Katy

minor

Also known as Old Katy

An elderly servant in the household.

Miss Powell

minor

Also known as Powell, a Miss Powell

A young woman who visits the community.

Mrs. Hamilton

minor

A married woman in the social circle.

Professor Walsh

minor

Also known as Walsh

An academic figure who appears briefly.

Mother

minor

Also known as Poor Mother, Mother Goose

A maternal figure, possibly a different mother.

Dr. Hamilton

minor

A doctor, possibly related to Mrs. Hamilton.

Cousin Minnie

minor

Also known as Minnie, Minnie Sheldon, Cousin Minnie Sheldon

A cousin who visits the family.

Aunt Martha

minor

An aunt mentioned in the story.

Miss Storms

minor

Also known as Storms, Sneaking Miss Storms

A gossipy and meddlesome neighbor.

Grace Stanley

minor

Also known as Grace

A friend or acquaintance of the main characters.

Mrs. Johnson

minor

A narrator or focal character with many pronoun mentions.

Mrs. Winter

minor

Also known as Dear Mrs. Winter

John Winter's mother, a kindly older woman.

Kingsley Dodd

minor

Also known as Kingsley, Mr. Kingsley Dodd, Dodd

A young man from a prominent family.

Miss Brennan

minor

Also known as Little Miss Brennan

A minor female character in the story.

Papa

minor

Also known as Kiss Papa

A father figure, likely to Lucy or Dimmie.

The Doctor

minor

Also known as Doctor

A local physician who attends to characters.

Mrs. Ellen Low

minor

Also known as Mrs. Low, Ellen, Ellen Low

A woman with a minor role in the narrative.

Anna Lockhart

minor

Also known as Anna

A young woman, possibly related to Mrs. Lockhart.

Delia Johnson

minor

Also known as Delia, Johnson

A woman with a distinct name in the community.

The Servant

minor

Also known as servant

A generic household servant.

Mr. Winter

minor

John Winter's father, a minor figure.

Howland

minor

A surname mentioned in passing.

Layard

minor

A name referenced briefly.

Edward

minor

A male character with few mentions.

Stella Hamilton

minor

Also known as Stella, Little Stella

A child or young relative of the Hamiltons.

Nora Stimpson

minor

Also known as Nora

A woman with a minor role.

Grandmamma

minor

An elderly grandmother figure.

Mathews

minor

Also known as Mr. Mathews

A man mentioned in the story.

Julia Arthur

minor

Also known as Arthur

A female character with a brief appearance.

Judge Dodd

minor

Also known as Dodd

A judge, possibly related to Kingsley Dodd.

Dr. Winter

minor

A doctor with the Winter surname.

Will Bennett

minor

Also known as Wilson

A man with a minor role.

Mary Anderson

minor

Also known as Mary

A woman referenced in the narrative.

Bob White

minor

A minor character, possibly a bird or person.

Sonny

minor

A child or young boy.

Miss Stimpson

minor

A woman with a minor appearance.

Mamie Willis

minor

Also known as Minnie

A female character with few mentions.

Mrs. Morris

minor

A minor female character.