Olalla characters

Appears from the start

An unnamed soldier recovering from wounds received during service in Spain. His doctor sends him to lodge with an impoverished aristocratic family in an isolated mountain residence, where his fascination with the household grows into a consuming attachment.

Appears from the start

The physician overseeing the narrator's recovery. He recommends the remote residencia for clean air and quiet, while warning that its once-prominent family has declined and should not be questioned too closely.

Appears from the start

The son of the family at the residencia, a handsome, good-natured young man with limited understanding. He escorts the narrator into the mountains and spends most of his time on simple outdoor pursuits.

Also known as The Señora

First appears in chapter 2

Felipe and Olalla's widowed mother, still strikingly beautiful despite the family's decay. She lives in indolent isolation at the residencia, responding to the world through appetite and sudden emotion more than conversation or reflection.

First appears in chapter 3

The secluded daughter of the household, educated, devout, and intellectually unlike her mother and brother. The narrator becomes absorbed by signs of her presence before meeting her and is overwhelmed when they finally speak, while Olalla treats their attraction with grave restraint.