Meet the Cast
D-503
Our protagonist, our narrator and our god-king of the universe. D-503 is kind of a microcosm of the greater society that created him. As such, he embodies their philosophy of complete submission to...
I-330
I-330 is a regular "Mata Hari," a dangerous woman serving as a spy and a corruptor. It stems from the name of a German spy in the First World War, and yeah, it's a little patriarchal, but what are...
O-90
If I-330 is all sharp and predatory, O-90 is all softness and gentility: She has a round soft dimple on her wrist. Children have such dimples. (2.4) In the book, she's presented as very happy and o...
R-13
R-13 is a poet, who shares a "sexual triangle" with D-503 and O-90. He's described as a "poet with the lips of a Negro" (5.1), a pretty clear allusion to Russia's number one poet, Aleksandr Pushkin...
U
U's number is never given. D-503 wants to preserve her anonymity:I prefer not to give her Number, for I fear I may not write kindly about her. (10.2) She's the controller in his apartment who bring...
S-4711
S-4711, or "S" as he is referred to, is one of the Guardians charged with hunting down enemies to the state. He seems to hover around D-503 for most of the early parts of the novel: shadowing him i...
The Well-Doer
We went back and forth on whether the Well-Doer qualified as a character or as a symbol. Like 1984's Big Brother, he exists as a symbol of the larger State that controls and dominates all life. Unl...