Charles Smithson - He is a wealthy Victorian gentlemen and heir to a title, he is a traditional romantic hero. He is interested in Darwin and paleontology and considers himself to be intellectually superior to other Victorian men, as he is one of the few who holds scientifically advanced ideas. He is engaged to Ernestina Freeman but is attracted to the mysterious Miss Woodruff. He is unhappy with the way his life is unfolding, yet he is extremely sensitive and intelligent. He is an insecure man constantly analyzing his life. Charles has two contrasting conceptions of sexuality: One of restraint, and one where visiting whores is acceptable, a typical contradiction of the Victorian age. As is typical in the romantic novel, love is the main theme for Charles’ development in the book. And because of love to Sarah, he makes a move from being a traditional Victorian character to being a more aware individual who is confronted with the decisions of existentialism. His old Victorian worldview of stable truths are shattered and replaced by a heterogeneous conception of the world as Fowles manipulates his character with the thoughts and ideas of the 20th century.
Ernestina Freeman - Charles’ fiancée. She is pretty, coy and
intelligent, but at times she tends to reveal her youth and naivete. She likes to think of herself as a modern woman but her attitudes
are similar to most of the young Victorian women who behaved in
a proper manner. She is the character of conformity. She is trying to live by the posited values made by society, instead of trying to discover her own identity. She is limited in several ways, sexually inhibited and constrained by the social conventions that she lives by. She is the classic Victorian lady: soft, weak-willed on the surface, shy and non-sexual. Mrs. Poulteney - A cruel old woman, she takes great delight in
harassing her domestic staff. She believes herself to be an upholder of
Christian virtues yet in reality, she is a hypocrite who reluctantly
helps people only out of a show of charity. Sarah in employed by
her in the position of a companion. She succeeds in making
Sarah’s life miserable by constantly reminding her that she is an
outcast. Dr. Grogan - An intelligent, friendly man who befriends Charles. The younger man finds him to be a sympathetic listener. Dr. Grogan empathizes with Sarah but finds her behavior too
outrageous to be taken seriously. He is refreshingly unconventional
in his views for a Victorian although he belongs more to an earlier
age that was more liberal in many ways.