The Woman in the Window

Ed Fox is Anna’s husband. At the start of the novel, he and Olivia appear to be living somewhere else, but a series of flashbacks reveals that he has died in the car accident in Vermont that marks the start of Anna’s agoraphobia.

Anna converses regularly with Ed and with Olivia, their daughter, which reflects her inability to accept that they are no longer alive. In her manifested conversations with Ed, he is a gentle, funny, and loving husband; the positive qualities revealed by these imaginary exchanges enhance the reader’s understanding of Anna’s keen sense of loss and guilt. Because the car accident that kills Ed is caused by Anna’s distraction when her lover calls her on the phone, Anna’s extramarital affair causes not only the breakdown her family but also the untimely deaths of Ed and Olivia. 

Olivia Fox is Anna’s eight-year-old daughter, who dies as a result of injuries sustained during the car accident in Vermont. Like her father, Olivia appears to be living elsewhere, but her death is also revealed in the flashbacks that explain what happened to her father.

During the imaginary conversations with Anna, Olivia’s tone with her mother is often short and brusque. She does not appear enthusiastic about speaking with her mother, and this absence of affection is explained by the fact that Olivia died shortly after discovering that her parents were separating due to her mother’s infidelity. In Anna’s imagination, Olivia resents her, which is a reflection of Anna’s guilt and regret over the affair that cost her so much.

Dr. Fielding is Anna’s psychiatrist. He makes weekly home visits to ensure that Anna is taking her medications properly. Dr. Fielding reveals the truth about Ed and Olivia to the police detectives, who up until this point, believe Anna when she says that her family are elsewhere. 

David Holmes is Anna’s handsome and taciturn tenant and handyman. Anna observes that different women often spend the night at his apartment. David is truthful with Anna about his past when he loses his temper after discovering her in his space; as a result of a barroom brawl, David had gone to jail for a time, and being in jail taught him to be protective of his space. Anna mistakenly deduces from this confession that David is capable of violence, and possibly, capable of murder. David and Anna spend one single night together, and they are awkward with one another the following morning; after this encounter, Anna is fearful of David, feeling that she had spent the night with a man who potentially had killed another woman. David leaves Anna’s basement after she publicly accuses him of hurting Jane Russell, whose earring, Anna believes, appears on his nightstand.

Alistair Russell is the adoptive father of Ethan Russell and Jane Russell’s husband. He is difficult to read and erratic in his behavior, so when Katie, pretending to be Jane, tells Anna that Alistair is “controlling,” Anna interprets the adjective in the worst possible way, assuming that Alistair is an abusive parent and husband. Alistair’s villainous qualities serve as a distraction to both Anna and the reader; because Alistair behaves like a villain, Anna assumes that his inconsistencies and his drunken rages are proof of his guilt and that he did in fact kill Jane Russell. Alistair knows that Ethan is a murderer, but he protects his adoptive son until the end of the novel when the truth emerges.

Jane Russell is the adoptive mother of Ethan Russell and Alistair Russell’s wife. Her true identity is unclear for most of the novel, and this lack of clarity drives the plot of the novel forward as Anna and the reader try to determine if Jane is alive or dead. Because Ethan’s biological mother, Katie, does not correct Anna when Anna mistakenly identifies her as “Jane Russell,” both Anna and the reader grow confused when Katie is killed and a woman calling herself Jane Russell is alive. Ethan deliberately feeds this confusion as it enables him to appear innocent while he intrudes on Anna’s space, stalking her and creeping into her bedroom at night over the course of days as he develops a plan to sexually assault Anna and kill her. 

Ethan Russell is 16 years old and homeschooled. When Anna and the reader first meet Ethan, he appears fragile and lonely. Anna misreads his vulnerability and imagines him to be a victim of abuse, while in reality, Ethan is a deeply unstable young man with a personality disorder and a troubled past involving older women. Ethan cleverly manipulates Anna into believing he is the one at risk of getting hurt and that his adoptive father Alistair is capable of hurting him and others. Only at the end of the novel, as the novel climaxes, does Anna and the reader learn that Ethan is the true villain and that he has orchestrated the confusing situation at hand according to his own perverse desire to be close to Anna and to assault and kill her. The night that he attacks Anna, she is able to save herself by sending Ethan to his death through the skylight of her roof.

Dr. Wesley Brill is Anna’s former colleague, business partner, and former lover. Anna reveals to the reader that his nickname is “Brilliant,” implying that Wesley is an intelligent person and a talented clinician worthy of Anna’s admiration. Anna’s attachment to Wesley at the start of their affair is serious; messages from him distract her at a social engagement she attends with her husband, and a phone call from him distracts her while she is driving in a winter storm, causing the accident that kills Ed and Olivia. After the accident, however, Anna’s feelings toward Wesley evaporate, and she deeply regrets her choices that involve Wesley and led to their affair.

Katie is Ethan’s biological mother. She is a younger and more buxom than the true Jane Russell, and, unbeknownst to Anna, she spends several nights with David, Anna’s handsome tenant. When, unbeknownst to the reader, Katie goes along with Anna’s assumption that she is Jane Russell, the plot begins to gain momentum.

Katie had Ethan when she also had a drug problem, and Ethan reports to Anna that his mother’s old boyfriends used to hurt him. Katie’s efforts to have a relationship with Ethan are unwelcome; neither Ethan nor his adoptive parents want to allow Katie into their lives. Ethan’s impatience with Katie turns pathological when he impulsively stabs her one evening in his living room, having tired of Katie’s intense emotions and her needs.