The Four Winds characters

Appears from the start

A tall, chronically underestimated woman raised by a prosperous Texas family to believe she is too plain and frail for an independent life. At twenty-five she longs for affection and a future beyond her parents' house. A daring night out brings her into the orbit of the Martinelli family and changes the course of her life.

First appears in chapter 2

The handsome younger son of Italian American wheat farmers Tony and Rose Martinelli. Restless and romantic, he dreams of a life beyond the family land when Elsa meets him.

First appears in chapter 5

Rafe's strong-willed mother and the practical center of the Martinelli farm. Her first response to Elsa is guarded, but she is devoted to her family, her Catholic faith, and the land she and Tony built into a home.

First appears in chapter 5

Rafe's father, an Italian immigrant who has spent years turning a patch of the Texas plains into a productive wheat farm. Patient and rooted to the soil, he judges people more by endurance and work than by social standing.

First appears in chapter 7

Elsa and Rafe's adolescent daughter. Intelligent, angry, and impatient with the limits of farm life, she is especially close to her father and often directs her frustration at Elsa. The worsening drought forces her to reconsider what courage and loyalty look like.

Also known as Ant

First appears in chapter 7

Elsa and Rafe's young son, energetic and curious despite the hardships surrounding the family. His health becomes a central concern as dust repeatedly fills the plains home.

First appears in chapter 20

A fellow migrant mother Elsa meets in California. She and her husband, Jeb, have also brought their children west in search of work. Generous even when her own family has little, Jean helps Elsa understand the rules and dangers of camp life.

First appears in chapter 20

Jean's husband and an experienced farm laborer. He shares practical knowledge with the Martinellis and tries to preserve his family's dignity in a labor system designed to keep migrants desperate.

First appears in chapter 23

A labor organizer who provides aid in migrant camps and argues that farmworkers can improve their conditions only by acting together. His confidence and commitment draw Loreda's admiration and make Elsa wary of the risks surrounding him.

First appears in chapter 25

The powerful grower whose company controls the farm, camp, store, and wages where Elsa's family finds work. He presents exploitation as opportunity and uses debt and the threat of dismissal to keep laborers compliant.