Brooklyn characters

Appears from the start

A quiet young woman living with her mother and older sister in Enniscorthy, Ireland. Intelligent and trained in bookkeeping, she has found only a few hours of poorly paid shop work in a town with little opportunity. She is observant and dutiful, more accustomed to meeting other people's expectations than stating her own wishes.

Appears from the start

Eilis's capable older sister, whose office job and polished manner give her an independence unusual in their household. Rose supports their widowed mother and quietly arranges possibilities for Eilis that the younger woman would not pursue for herself.

Appears from the start

The widowed mother of Rose and Eilis, living with her daughters in Enniscorthy after her sons have moved to England. She depends on Rose's company and income but recognizes that Eilis has few prospects nearby.

Appears from the start

An Irish priest based in Brooklyn who visits the Lacey family. Seeing Eilis's lack of opportunity, he offers to arrange an American job and a respectable place for her to live, turning a vague idea of emigration into a settled plan.

Appears from the start

A severe Enniscorthy shopkeeper who gives Eilis Sunday work. She carefully observes the town's social ranks and treats poorer customers with open contempt, making the job another reminder of how narrow Eilis's choices at home have become.

Appears from the start

Eilis's lively friend in Enniscorthy, eager for dances, company, and the possibility of marriage. Her social confidence contrasts with Eilis's reserve and draws Eilis into the town's limited round of leisure.

Appears from the start

A young man from a prosperous Enniscorthy family associated with a local pub. At dances he initially seems formal and socially assured, part of a settled world that Eilis watches from its margins.

First appears in chapter 2

Eilis's experienced cabinmate on the voyage to New York. Georgina understands the discomforts of the crossing and the procedures awaiting immigrants, and her brisk practical help carries Eilis through illness and arrival.

First appears in chapter 2

The Irish landlady of the Brooklyn boarding house where Father Flood places Eilis. She maintains firm rules at her dinner table, monitors the young women's behavior, and presides over the household with a mixture of propriety and selective favor.

First appears in chapter 2

Eilis's supervisor at Bartocci's department store. She expects composure and courtesy on the sales floor, but she also notices Eilis's difficulties and responds with more discretion and kindness than Eilis first anticipates.

First appears in chapter 3

An Italian American plumber whom Eilis meets at a parish dance. Warm, direct, and comfortable saying what he hopes for, he begins courting her with a seriousness that both attracts and unsettles her.