Heartburn characters

Appears from the start

A New York food writer who is seven months pregnant when she discovers that her husband is having an affair. She narrates the collapse of her marriage through memories, recipes, and sharp observations, using humor to keep control while she decides whether reconciliation is possible.

Appears from the start

Rachel's husband, a Washington political columnist. Charming and persuasive, he has begun an affair while Rachel is pregnant, yet he expects domestic life to continue and draws Rachel back with assurances that their marriage can be repaired.

Appears from the start

The Washington socialite with whom Mark is having an affair. Rachel first understands her as an alarming absence and then as the specific rival around whom Mark's lies and evasions have been organized.

Appears from the start

Rachel and Mark's young son. His routines and dependence keep Rachel tied to practical decisions while the adults around him destabilize the family.

First appears in chapter 3

Rachel's father, a New Yorker whose apartment becomes part of her refuge after she leaves Washington. His habits and family history belong to the network Rachel falls back on when her marriage ceases to feel like home.

First appears in chapter 3

Rachel's close friend in New York, a steady source of practical companionship as Rachel tries to absorb the affair and imagine a life beyond Mark.

First appears in chapter 4

Julie's husband and part of the married social circle through which Rachel measures her own relationship. His presence helps show how readily private marital crises become shared knowledge among friends.

First appears in chapter 5

A thief who confronts Rachel during her flight to New York. The robbery turns her hoped-for refuge into another place of vulnerability, though Rachel later recognizes him in an unexpected setting.

First appears in chapter 8

The leader of Rachel's group-therapy sessions. Her efforts to make members examine their patterns provide a formal setting for Rachel's account of betrayal, even when Rachel resists converting pain into a tidy lesson.