Letter from an Unknown Woman characters

Appears from the start

A successful novelist living in Vienna. He receives an unsigned letter from a woman who says she has loved him for most of her life, although he has repeatedly failed to recognize her. His charm and ease with passing relationships stand in contrast to the lasting importance those encounters have for her.

Also known as The letter writer

Appears from the start

The unnamed author of the letter and the central figure of its life story. She first becomes fascinated by R. as an adolescent living in the same apartment building. Her attachment survives separation, adulthood, and several encounters in which he does not connect her with the girl who once watched him from nearby.

Appears from the start

The letter writer's young son, whom she raises without telling R. that he is the father. She organizes her adult life around giving the boy comfort and opportunity while keeping his existence separate from R.

Appears from the start

The letter writer's widowed mother. Her remarriage takes mother and daughter away from Vienna just as the girl's fixation on their neighbor has taken hold.

Appears from the start

The merchant who marries the letter writer's mother and moves the household to Innsbruck. He treats his stepdaughter kindly, but the move removes her from the building where R. lives.

Appears from the start

R.'s longtime servant, a quiet observer of the people who pass through his employer's life. His memory proves more faithful than R.'s when the letter's account reaches its end.