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The Doctor

The protagonist and narrator. At first, the doctor seems well-intentioned and devoted by trying desperately to travel to a patient ten miles away during a snowstorm. However, he is an unreliable narrator who relates the bizarre and grotesque events that are more dreamlike than realistic during his attempt to tend to a reportedly sick boy.

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Rosa

The doctor’s servant girl. Rosa is helpful and amused, though vulnerable to the advances of the groom. The doctor thinks about her and worries about her fate after being left behind, unprotected.

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The Groom

A man who inexplicably appears from the pigsty. Although he is previously unknown to the doctor, the groom appears to provide two strong horses. However, his attack on Rosa reveals him to be a dangerous man.

The Patient

A young man whose parents claim is very sick. When the doctor arrives, the man appears to be fine, yet he asks the doctor to let him die. Later the man pleads with the doctor to save his life, revealing him to be conflicted about his own mortality.

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