Oedipa Maas

Oedipa Maas is the protagonist, a modern version of Oedipus of ancient Greek myth. She engages in a quest, inspired by the job of sorting out her ex-lover's morally corrupt financial empire. Along the way, she finds out what is wrong with modern America, and what the possibilities are for some kind of secular salvation of the modern individual and modern mass society.

Mucho Maas

Oedipa's husband is extremely sensitive to contemporary moral corruption, and seeks authenticity in ineffective ways. He is useless to her quest, and ends up losing even the boundaries of his own personality.

Pierce Inverarity

A former lover of Oedipa, Inverarity appointed Oedipa as co-executor of his extensive estate for unknown reasons. His unprincipled economic activities come to stand for the crisis of moral, political, economic and social corruption in which modern America finds itself.

Dr. Hilarius

Oedipa's psychiatrist offers her hallucinogenic drugs...