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Ellen Thatcher
An actress born and raised in New York City and the protagonist of the novel. On the day of her birth, Ellen’s mother thinks she has been handed the wrong baby in the hospital. Ellen spends the rest of her life trying to find her place. She becomes a Broadway actress and develops a pattern of marriage and divorce. Her marriages often further her career or social standing in New York with the exception of her marriage to Jimmy.
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Jimmy Herf
A reporter in New York City. After losing his mother at a young age, Jimmy is given the opportunity to follow in his Uncle Jeff’s footsteps in the lucrative world of finance. Breaking his habit of being overly agreeable, Jimmy refuses the offer and decides to make his own way as a reporter. He gets fired more than once because he lacks a true reporter’s instinct. He has a brief and ill-fated marriage to Ellen and feels like he's observing life instead of living it. Throughout the novel, Jimmy talks about wanting to leave the city, and he finally does so in the last pages of the book.
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George Baldwin
A lawyer in New York City. George jump-starts his career by winning a lawsuit against the railroad. The case gets the attention of his employer, and George climbs the ranks of his law firm. George has a habit of carrying on affairs with women who are inaccessible, either because they are married or because they don’t love him. When he finally does marry for the first time, it is only to ride his wife’s coattails up the social ladder. Having fallen in love with Ellen, George pursues her throughout the novel and during his other relationships. Ellen finally relents and marries George.
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Stan Emery
The son of a wealthy New York lawyer. Drunk in almost every scene, Stan is the son of George’s employer. He moves around from party to party, where he is sometimes a welcome guest and sometimes not. Everyone around Stan sees that he has a drinking problem, but no one takes definitive steps to help him, not even Ellen. On impulse, he marries a young girl named Pearline, a decision that shocks Ellen.
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New York City
The city in which the novel is set and arguably the antagonist in this fragmented set of stories. Regardless of their social class, it is the city against which the characters all struggle. In their attempts to succeed—or even just get by—in the city, they often make bad choices and fall prey to their self-destructive tendencies.
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Gus McNeil
A Tammany Hall politician. As a young man, Gus has a job delivering milk. He is hit by a train after his shift one morning, which wins him a settlement from the railroad, courtesy of George Baldwin. The next time Gus appears, he is an established and corrupt politician who maneuvers against the labor unions in New York. He is loyal to George and expects George's loyalty in return. Gus is angry when George decides to run for office on the Reform ticket.
Joe Harland
A former stockbroker. During his career in finance, Joe Harland is known as the Wizard of Wall Street. After a girl burns his lucky tie, Joe’s luck and the world come crashing down. He loses everything and becomes destitute. He works odd jobs to make ends meet and often spends his last dollars on alcohol. He is homeless at times. Joe is unique among the characters in that he has experienced the finer things in life and then loses everything.
Ed Thatcher
An accountant and Ellen’s father. Since Ellen’s mother, Susie, is sick and bed-bound much of the time, Ed is left to raise Ellen as a single father. The two form a strong bond which strengthens further after Susie passes away. Moving to New Jersey once Ellen is an adult, Ed makes a quiet, honest living. He reads about Ellen’s private life in the gossip pages once Ellen becomes a famous Broadway actress.
Anna Cohen
A worker in the garment district. Anna has dreams of opening her own seamstress shop where she will be her own boss and not have to answer to anyone. Mistreated at several jobs and berated at home by her mother for taking part in a worker’s strike, Anna does not feel comfortable or welcome anywhere. She moves from job to job, including being a taxi dancer and a prostitute. She is badly burned one day in a fire as she works as a seamstress.
Congo
A French galley hand and bootlegger. Congo comes to New York City as a young boy who took to the seas to escape a rough childhood. Once in the city, he is not happy enough to stay. He returns to life as a galley hand, visiting New York between stints. After losing his leg in World War I, Congo strikes it rich working as a bootlegger in New York. He becomes one of Jimmy’s few good friends in the city. Congo marries Nevada Jones and lives in a penthouse apartment at the novel's end.
Emile
A French galley hand and shop owner. Arriving in New York with Congo, Emile has a different perspective on life in the city. He is committed to working hard and becoming successful. For Emile, success means wealth but also being able to show those who look down on him that he has made something of himself. To hasten his climb up the social ladder, Emile forms and executes a plan to marry the owner of a specialty food shop.
Joe O’Keefe
A union worker and World War I veteran. Joe O’Keefe works as a union informant for Gus McNeil. He finds himself in a difficult position after the war as he wants veterans to receive a bonus, but Gus tells him that public sentiment has moved on and people no longer want to hear about the veterans.
Bud Korpenning
A farm boy. One of the first characters to appear in the novel, Bud comes to New York from a farm upstate. He searches for work in what he believes is the city’s center on Broadway. Unable to find steady work, he lives in a shelter. He confides in a fellow homeless man that he killed his abusive father before fleeing to the city. Tired of failure and looking over his shoulder, Bud meets a tragic end.
James Merivale
Jimmy’s wealthy cousin. James grows up doing and acting as he is told. He tends to dress and act like someone older than he is. Following in his father’s footsteps, James builds a successful career in finance. He looks down on Jimmy, who has taken a different path and is a failure in James’s eyes.
John Oglethorpe
A Broadway actor. Ellen marries John “Jojo” Oglethorpe because he is an established actor, and it furthers her career. Although she does not love him, Ellen is protective when people speak about Jojo, who is gay. Before their divorce, Ellen starts seeing Stan, and Jojo goes on a jealous rampage.
Lily Herf
Jimmy’s mother. Jimmy and Lily have a strong bond, as Jimmy’s father is not in the picture. The two return to New York on the Fourth of July from an unknown location. It soon becomes clear that Lily is sick. Lily relies on young Jimmy as a caregiver for a while, which takes an emotional toll on him and keeps him very sheltered from other children. Lily dies after having a stroke.
Ruth Prynne
A Broadway actress. Living in Sunderland’s apartment building along with Ellen and other actors and actresses, Ruth tries to hit it big. Never finding the success she’s looking for, Ruth resents Ellen for marrying her way into big roles. She’s later jealous when Ellen marries Jimmy.
Cassandra Wilkins
A Broadway actress. An occupant of Mrs. Sunderland’s apartments, Cassandra expects the men she dates to be as romantic and pure as she is. Speaking with a lisp throughout the novel, Cassandra not only acts but also sounds like a child.
Phineas Blackhead
The owner of an import and export firm. Phineas is involved in corrupt dealings and loses everything by the novel's end. He dies bitter and ruined, comforted only by the fact that he has provided for his daughter Gladys.
Tony Hunter
A Broadway actor. Tony is gay but has to hide this if he wants to pursue his acting career. He briefly dates Nevada Jones, who convinces George to pay for a psychoanalyst to turn Tony straight. George eventually refuses to keep paying for this treatment.
Dutch Robertson and Francie
A couple who resorts to crime. Unable to find work after returning from World War I, Dutch reads about a bank robbery and has an epiphany. He begins holding up shops in the city, and Francie soon joins him. They are caught and go to prison.
