Maggie Ellersley

Philip Marshall

Maggie and Philip are lovers whose relationship is strained by class differences and personal ambitions.

Joanna Marshall

Joanna and Maggie are close friends who support each other through personal and professional struggles.

Peter Bye

Maggie and Peter share a supportive friendship, often acting as confidants for each other.

Henderson Neal

Henderson is a suitor to Maggie, but their relationship is fraught with tension due to his possessiveness.

Sylvia Marshall

Maggie and Sylvia share a warm friendship, with Sylvia often offering Maggie emotional support.

John Howe

John Howe is a colleague and employer who provides Maggie with opportunities in the arts.

Joanna Marshall

Joanna and Maggie are close friends who support each other through personal and professional struggles.

Philip Marshall

Maggie and Philip are lovers whose relationship is strained by class differences and personal ambitions.

Joanna Marshall

Joanna and Maggie are close friends who support each other through personal and professional struggles.

Peter Bye

Maggie and Peter share a supportive friendship, often acting as confidants for each other.

Peter Bye

Maggie and Peter share a supportive friendship, often acting as confidants for each other.

Henderson Neal

Henderson is a suitor to Maggie, but their relationship is fraught with tension due to his possessiveness.

There Is Confusion

Maggie aspires to rise above her working-class roots, seeking marriage as a means to achieve social status.

II

Sylvia's chum and schoolmate, she notes that Joanna only engages in singing or dancing games, highlighting Joanna's selective playfulness.

VI

Sylvia's friend, who notices Peter's good looks and teases Sylvia about him being Joanna's beau.

VII

Arrives at the Marshall home and is instructed by Joanna in the barn dance.

VIII

Maggie, now twelve, overhears a story about a poor white woman who married into wealth and resolves to escape her own poverty. She moves with her mother to a better tenement, attends school, meets Sylvia Marshall, and begins dreaming of a better life.

IX

Maggie actively seeks to improve her social standing by imitating Sylvia and working for the Marshalls, while developing feelings for Philip and attracting the attention of Henderson Neal.

Chapter X

Maggie is a high school graduate who aspires to rise above her humble background. She has feelings for Philip, which Joanna disapproves of.

Chapter XI

Devastated by Joanna's letter, she accepts Henderson Neal's marriage proposal out of despair and a desire for security.

XIV

Now married to Henderson Neal, Maggie enjoys material comfort but struggles with social isolation and shame over her husband's grammar. She discovers Neal's true profession as a gambler and resolves to leave him.

XV

Now living in Philadelphia, she has left her husband Henderson Neal and is seeking a divorce; she works as a supervisor for Madame Harkness and shares her troubled past with Peter.

XVI

Mentioned as introducing Peter to a music partner and seeking a divorce from Henderson Neal.

XVII

Maggie is mentioned by Joanna during the argument as a point of comparison, suggesting she would not nag Peter about his behavior.

XVIII

Mentioned as the woman Peter plans to marry.

XIX

Accepts Peter's proposal, seeing it as a chance for social respectability and revenge on Joanna.

Chapter XX

Referenced as the woman Peter is now engaged to marry; Joanna imagines them laughing at her.

XXI

Mentioned as the woman Peter turned to; Brian speculates that her sudden marriage to Neal may have been influenced by Joanna.

XXII

Peter's former love, who calls him on the telephone, reminding him he had forgotten about her.

XXIII

Accepts Peter knowing he loves Joanna, motivated by social climbing and fear of her ex-husband Henderson Neal; she is frustrated by Peter's decision to postpone marriage.

XXV

Broods over her social isolation and her desperate hope that Peter will marry her to escape her sense of unworthiness.

XXVI

Found stabbed in her apartment; reveals that Henderson Neal attacked her because she planned to marry Peter.

XXIX

Peter feels obligated to her but questions her motives; he avoids writing to her despite his guilt.

XXXI

Recovers from nervous breakdown, renounces her past ambition, and finds new purpose as a YMCA worker in France.

XXXII

Now working in Chambéry helping boys, she has found contentment and plans to start a chain of beauty shops. She confesses her love for Philip and offers to nurse him.

XXXIII

Reported by Vera to be marrying Joanna's brother Philip.

XXXIV

Mentioned as having broken off her engagement with Peter in Chambéry.

XXXV

Devotedly cares for Philip, remains calm and cheerful after his death, and starts planning her Beauty Parlors with Joel.