| Dr. |
A | Kevin's doctor. |
| Alcee |
Arobin | Man with whom Edna had an affair. |
| Patrick |
Bateman | Fictional character from American Psycho. |
| Susan |
Bordo | American philosopher. |
| Tarana |
Burke | Founder of the #MeToo movement. |
| Angela |
Carter | English novelist and short story writer. |
| Kate |
Chopin | Author of The Awakening. |
| Hillary |
Clinton | Former U.S. Secretary of State. |
| Isak |
Dinesen | Danish author. |
| Hannah |
Dreyfus | Investigative reporter. |
| Jane |
Eyre | Protagonist of Jane Eyre. |
| Melissa |
Febos | Author and essayist. |
| Eli |
Finkel | Author and social psychology professor. |
| Stacey May |
Fowles | Kate's acquaintance. |
| Jennifer |
Freyd | Psychologist who coined the term "DARVO." |
| Beverly |
Gooden | Writer and social activist. |
| Kate |
Hamilton | Protagonist and narrator. |
| Kevin |
Hamilton | Kate and Rick's younger son. |
| Will |
Hamilton | Kate and Rick's older son. |
| Zora Neale |
Hurston | Novelist. |
| Carrie |
Jenkins | Philosophy professor. |
| Brett |
Kavanaugh | Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| Deborah |
Levy | South African novelist. |
| Carmen Maria |
Machado | Author of "The Husband Stitch." |
| Mrs. |
Mallard | The woman with an abusive husband. |
| Kate |
Manne | Australian moral philosopher. |
| Bertha |
Mason | Mr. Rochester's first wife in Jane Eyre. |
| Theresa |
May | Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. |
| Angela |
Merkel | Former Chancellor of Germany. |
| Esther |
Perel | Psychotherapist. |
| Edna |
Pontellier | Protagonist in The Awakening. |
| Edward |
Rochester | Jane's employer and love interest in Jane Eyre. |
| Mimi |
Rogers | Actress mentioned in cultural reference. |
| Gayle |
Rubin | Cultural anthropologist and feminist theorist. |
| Dr. |
S | Rick's psychologist. |
| Dr. |
T | Kevin's longtime therapist. |
| Clarence |
Thomas | Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| Donald |
Trump | Former U.S. President. |
| Shankar |
Vedantam | Host of "Hidden Brain" podcast. |
| Alex |
| Kate's closest friend. |
| Ann |
| Kate's lawyer. |
| Doug |
| Writer and teacher, Kate's lover. |
| Edna |
| Character in The Awakening. |
| Henry |
| Kate's lover. |
| Ivan |
| The swinger that Rick and Kate met. |
| Jack |
| Kate's current partner. |
| James |
| Alex's husband. |
| Janie |
| Kate's first cat. |
| Johnson |
| Rick's lawyer. |
| Medusa |
| Mythological Gorgon figure from Greek mythology. |
| Miller |
| Short story writer, Kate's new boyfriend. |
| Rick |
| Beverly's ex-husband. |
| Robert |
| Man whom Edna falls in love with. |
| Vanya |
| Ivan's wife. |
| Wes |
| Kate's college friend. |
