# Soldiers’ Pay — Character guide

> Key figures in Soldiers’ Pay by William Faulkner.

- [Joe Gilligan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/joe_gilligan.md): A weary enlisted man who shepherds a blinded officer home from France, only to find his own reward is a friendship he can't quite name.
- [Cecily Saunders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/cecily_saunders.md): A young Southern belle waiting to marry a soldier she barely knows, whose pretty certainties crack under the weight of what the war has sent back to her.
- [George Farr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/george_farr.md): A restless young man hovering at the edges of Cecily's engagement, caught between wanting her and knowing he has no place in the story she's already chosen.
- [Margaret Powers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/margaret_powers.md): A war widow who attaches herself to a dying soldier's homecoming, moving through other people's griefs with a calm that costs her more than she shows.
- [Emmy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/emmy.md): A servant girl with a fierce, unshowy independence who mothers the wounded lieutenant and refuses to be anyone's prey.
- [Donald Mahon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/donald_mahon.md): A young aviator brought home blind and drifting, his ruined face and wandering mind the still center around which everyone else's hopes and vanities turn.
- [Januarius Jones](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/januarius_jones.md): Jones drifts through the Saunders household as a guest nobody quite invited, fixing his fathomless yellow stare on Cecily until she feels her blood go cold, then asking when she is to be married. He admits that frighteni
- [Mr. Saunders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/mr_saunders.md): Mr. Saunders belongs to the older generation that retreats to the veranda when the war talk grows too large, leaving the young to their uneasy rooms. His presence lingers in the house even when he is offstage — in the sc
- [Young Robert Saunders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/young_robert_saunders.md): A younger member of the Saunders family.
- [Mrs. Saunders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/mrs_saunders.md): Cecily's mother, a matriarchal presence.
- [Uncle Joe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/uncle_joe.md): An older relative offering guidance and humor.
- [Dick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/dick.md): A deceased soldier remembered by others.
- [Madden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/madden.md): A sergeant with a no-nonsense attitude.
- [Captain Green](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/captain_green.md): A military officer with a brief role.
- [Tobe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/tobe.md): A servant or local figure in the community.
- [Mrs. Mahon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/mrs_mahon.md): Walking the rose avenue beneath the oaks, Mrs. Mahon tells Gilligan she never knew anyone she liked half this much, and teases him that he is too nice to escape marriage forever. She is the household's quiet center of gr
- [Mr. Rivers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/mr_rivers.md): A minor character with limited appearances.
- [Mrs. Burney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/mrs_burney.md): A local woman in the social circle.
- [Doctor Gary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/doctor_gary.md): A physician attending to characters.
- [Dr. Mahon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/dr_mahon.md): A doctor and possibly relative of Donald.
- [Mrs. Worthington](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/mrs_worthington.md): A minor social figure.
- [Julian Lowe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/julian_lowe.md): Kneeling beside Margaret's chair with his arms around her legs, Cadet Lowe confesses that he would take Donald's scar and all, and imagines a tomb with himself in boots and pilot's wings. He is jealous of a dying man's w
- [Henry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/henry.md): A soldier or local with a troubled past.
- [Callie Nelson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/callie_nelson.md): An aunt figure in the community.
- [Sherman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters/sherman.md): A historical name dropped in context.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/characters