August: Osage County characters

Appears from the start

The aging poet at the head of the Weston family, an alcoholic living in rural Oklahoma. Weary of managing his wife's dependence on prescription drugs and the hostility of their marriage, he hires Johnna to help in the house shortly before he disappears.

Appears from the start

Beverly's wife and the Weston family matriarch. She has cancer of the mouth and consumes large quantities of prescription pills, leaving her speech and attention erratic. Even while impaired, she is acutely alert to other people's vulnerabilities and uses family history as a weapon.

Also known as Barb

Appears from the start

The eldest Weston daughter, who returns from Colorado when her father disappears. Forceful and accustomed to challenging her mother, she arrives with her husband Bill and their teenage daughter Jean while concealing how badly her own household has fractured.

Appears from the start

Barbara's husband, a college professor whose marriage is separating after his relationship with a younger student. He comes to Oklahoma to support the family and to look after Jean, but he and Barbara disagree about whether their marriage can be repaired.

Appears from the start

Barbara and Bill's fourteen-year-old daughter. Intelligent, watchful, and frustrated by her parents' conflict, she is drawn into the adult tensions at the Weston house while receiving little reliable protection from them.

Appears from the start

The middle Weston daughter and the only one who remained near her parents in Oklahoma. Quiet and private, she resents being treated as the dependable local daughter while her sisters built lives elsewhere.

Appears from the start

The youngest Weston daughter, now living in Florida. She returns with her new fiance, Steve, and presents her relationship as the happy future she has finally found, brushing aside her sisters' reservations about how little she knows him.

Appears from the start

Karen's confident, polished fiance, a Florida businessman. He works to appear relaxed, prosperous, and helpful around her grieving family.

Appears from the start

A young Cheyenne woman hired by Beverly as a live-in housekeeper and caregiver. Reserved and observant, she remains steady amid the family's disorder and continues looking after Violet after Beverly's disappearance.

Appears from the start

The local sheriff and Barbara's former high-school boyfriend. He handles the search for Beverly with consideration for the family and brings them the news when Beverly is found.

Appears from the start

Violet's sister, who arrives with her husband and son during the search for Beverly. She shares Violet's hard-edged humor and habit of exposing weakness, and the sisters know how to provoke one another through their long family history.

Appears from the start

Mattie Fae's husband and Beverly's close friend. Genial and patient, he brings an easier manner to the gathering than either his wife or her sister.

First appears in chapter 2

Mattie Fae and Charlie's shy, awkward adult son, known within the family by a childhood nickname. He loves Ivy and plans a life with her, but his mother's constant criticism has left him hesitant and anxious in the family's company.