Character guide

Miriam

major

Also known as Pointed Roofs, Miriam Henderson

Miriam arrives at Fräulein Pfaff's school already grieving the school she has left, the place where teachers asked girls what they wanted to do with their lives and she answered, with sudden conviction, that she would write. In the German pension she is an outsider among serene girls who already own house linen and know how to cook, and her sharp, self-lacerating mind keeps replaying old scenes instead of settling into the present. Her hunger to understand herself and her future drives the book's inward movement.

Fräulein Pfaff

supporting

Also known as the Fräulein, Fräulein, tall Fräulein Pfaff

Fräulein Pfaff governs the pension through gentle decisive pronouncements, praising sponge bags at breakfast and directing the reading of German poetry with a voice that seems to whisper piously in a corner. Her fascinated gaze fixes on the beautiful, unhappy Ulrica even as she distributes her wide, cavernous smiles among the other girls. She embodies the school's peculiar blend of piety, surveillance, and genuine feeling that Miriam must learn to read.

Mademoiselle

supporting

Also known as silly little Mademoiselle, Little Mademoiselle

Mademoiselle trails the English girls along the boulevard, protesting in French that she does not make the advances, and her instant response to Miriam's careless cry about Pastor Lahmann leaves Miriam blushing to her soles. She appears at the head of the basement stairs with a face disfigured by crying, a black hat and black cotton gloves, and Miriam cannot decide whether it is nothing or something. Her raw, comic vulnerability shows Miriam how exposed a woman can be in this closed world.

Minna Blum

supporting

Also known as Minna

Minna sits opposite Miriam at table, responding to the louder remarks with delighted exclamations and drawing her chair near when Fräulein Pfaff hands round the Schiller. She is one of the serene German girls who already possess complete outfits of house linen and confess, with a lit face, that they are frightfully fond of cooking. Her placid security is exactly the kind of future Miriam envies and cannot imagine for herself.

Gertrude Goldring

supporting

Also known as Gertrude

Gertrude is part of the English party at Fräulein Pfaff's, one of the girls whose names Fräulein calls out at breakfast alongside Miriam's own. She moves through the pension's routines of baths, walks, and lessons, a familiar figure in a foreign setting. For Miriam, she is one of the few threads connecting the German schoolroom to the English life she has left behind.

Eve

minor

Miriam's younger sister, who visits or is mentioned in letters.

Millie

minor

Another of Miriam's younger sisters.

Emma Bergmann

supporting

Also known as little Bergmann, Emma, German Emma

Emma sits close at Miriam's side at table, and Miriam likes to take food handed by her warm plump presence. She is one of the German girls who already own complete house linen and can cook, placid and unafraid of the future in a way Miriam has never met. Yet Miriam cannot contemplate Emma in relation to a German husband, and that shirking thought marks the distance between the two worlds.

Harriett

minor

Also known as Funny Harriett, old Harriett

Miriam's older sister, who writes to her.

Pastor Lahmann

minor

Also known as Lahmann

A local pastor who interacts with the school.

Ulrica Hesse

minor

Also known as Ulrica

A German pupil at the school.

Jimmie

minor

Also known as Jim, Gewiss Jimmie

Miriam's brother, mentioned in her thoughts and letters.

Clara Bergmann

minor

Also known as Clara

A German pupil, sister of Emma Bergmann.

Judy

minor

A friend or acquaintance of Miriam's from England.

Bertha Martin

minor

Also known as Bertha

A pupil at the school, part of the Martin family.

Elsa Speier

minor

Also known as Elsa

A German pupil at the school.

Miss Henderson

minor

Also known as Henderson

A teacher at the school, possibly Miriam's predecessor.

Hendy

minor

A nickname for a family member or friend.

Solomon Martin

minor

Also known as Solomon

A pupil at the school, brother of Bertha.

Sarah

minor

Also known as Sally

A servant or maid in the Henderson household.

Pater

minor

Miriam's father, referred to in her thoughts.

Anna

minor

Also known as Poor Anna

A German pupil at the school.

Lily

minor

A young girl mentioned in passing.

Herr Kapellmeister Bossenberger

minor

Also known as Herr Kapellmeister, Herr Bossenberger

A music teacher at the school.

Herr Schraub

minor

A teacher at the school.

Lilla Belton

minor

Also known as Lilla

A friend of Miriam's from England.

Mim

minor

Also known as Dearest Mim

A pet name for a family member, possibly Miriam's mother.

Frau Krause

minor

Also known as Frau

A housekeeper or cook at the school.

Miss Donne

minor

A teacher at the school.

Miss Richardson

minor

A teacher at the school.

Luther

minor

A historical figure referenced in conversation.

May

minor

Also known as Marie

A pupil or servant mentioned briefly.

Herr Winter

minor

A local man who interacts with the school.

Kreipe

minor

A German pupil at the school.

Harry

minor

Also known as old Harry, jolly old Harry

A family friend or relative mentioned by Miriam.

Ellen

minor

A servant or acquaintance mentioned in passing.

Mr. Brough

minor

A visitor or acquaintance of the school.

Hendchen

minor

Also known as Dear Hendchen

A German pupil, possibly a diminutive of a name.

Bella Lyndon

minor

Also known as Bella

A friend of Miriam's from England.