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Violet Trace
Violet is a hairdresser in Harlem. She is Joe Trace’s wife, Rose Dear’s daughter, and True Belle’s granddaughter; over the course of the narrative, she also becomes a close friend to Alice…
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Joe Trace
Joe Trace is a salesman for Cleopatra beauty products; he is also Violet’s husband, Dorcas’ lover, and (probably) Wild’s son. Joe’s lack of a relationship with his birth mother Wild shapes him…
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The Narrator
The unnamed narrator is a resident of Harlem who watches Joe, Violet, and Dorcas through her window and imagines for herself any details of their histories and relationships that she does not have…
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Alice Manfred
Alice Manfred is a seamstress and Dorcas’s maternal aunt. When Dorcas’s parents are both killed in the anti-Black attacks of the East St. Louis massacre, Alice steps in to take care of the newly…
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Dorcas
Dorcas is Joe’s lover, Alice Manfred’s niece, and Felice’s best friend. After losing both her parents in the violence of the East St. Louis massacre, Dorcas becomes “bold,” breaking her aunt’s strict…
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Felice
Felice is Dorcas’s best friend. Felice’s father and mother live mostly in Tuxedo, so Felice is raised by her relatively conservative grandmother. Though Felice is impressed by Dorcas’s boldness—and grateful for the excitement…
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True Belle
True Belle is Rose Dear’s mother and Violet’s grandmother. After years of being enslaved by Vera Louise’s family, True Belle returns home to provide for Rose Dear and her children. True Belle…
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Golden Gray
Golden Gray is the son of Vera Louise and Henry Lestory, though his closest relationship as a child was really with True Belle. Because of his blonde hair, his bronze skin, and the…
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The Woman/Wild
Wild is first introduced as the frightened pregnant woman Golden Gray spots on the side of the road. With help from Henry Lestory, Golden, and Honor, Wild is able to give birth to…
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Henry Lestory/Hunter’s Hunter
Henry Lestory (known to most Vienna residents as Hunter’s Hunter) is Golden Gray’s father and Joe’s mentor. Henry is the most respected animal tracker in the area, and he is used to being…
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Vera Louise
Vera Louise is a prosperous white woman, the daughter of the plantation owners who enslave both True Belle and Henry Lestory. As a young woman, Vera has an affair with Henry, which leads her…
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Rose Dear
Rose Dear is Violet’s mother and True Belle’s daughter. After her husband (Violet’s father) disappears and her belongings are repossessed, Rose Dear struggles to hold onto her sanity. Eventually, Rose Dear…
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Violet’s Father
Violet’s father is a member of the Readjuster Party, which aimed to increase voting rights for Black citizens across Virginia. He is frequently absent from Violet’s childhood home, returning home only once a decade…
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Malvonne
Malvonne is Joe and Violet’s gossipy neighbor. She is very concerned with her nephew Sweetness, and with the stories she reads in discarded letters. Malvonne rents Joe her room to use with Dorcas…
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Acton
Acton is the arrogant young man (the “rooster,” as Joe puts it) that Dorcas leaves Joe for. Whereas Joe is patient with Dorcas, Acton is often critical of her, refusing her public displays of affection…
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Victory Williams
Victory is Joe’s best friend from childhood. After Victory’s parents took the abandoned baby Joe in, Victory—also an infant—becomes almost a surrogate brother to Joe. Joe reflects that Victory is the first (and for…
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Gistan
Gistan is one of Joe’s best friends in New York City. Along with Stuck, Gistan often plays cards with Joe late into the night. Every so often, Gistan and Stuck allude to Violet’s…
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Stuck
Stuck is one of Joe’s best friends in New York City. Along with Gistan, Stuck often plays cards with Joe late into the night. Every so often, Gistan and Stuck allude to Violet…
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Felice’s Father
Felice’s father works in Tuxedo, visiting Felice with his wife (Felice’s mother) every few weeks. Early in the novel, Felice’s father is glued to his newspapers, carefully tracking incidents of white violence against…
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Minor Characters
Honor
Honor is a teenager living in Vienna, Virginia. He is mentored by Henry Lestory, and he is proud of this relationship with the village’s foremost hunter. Honor is the first person Golden Gray meets upon arriving to Virginia, and he helps Wild through her difficult labor.
Felice’s Grandmother
Felice’s grandmother is the main person responsible for raising Felice. She is depicted as a relatively devoted family member, though she does not approve of Felice’s relationship with Dorcas. After Joe shoots and kills Dorcas, Felice’s grandmother speculates that Dorcas “brought it on herself.”
Felice’s Mother
Felice’s mother works in Tuxedo, and she only gets leave to return home to her daughter once a month. Though Felice’s mother is normally a very rule-abiding person, Felice once sees her steal an opal ring from Tiffany’s jewelry store.
