The characters are:
- Arnolphe, a bachelor who also uses the noble-sounding name of Monsieur de la Souche
- Agnès, his innocent teenage ward
- Alain, a peasant who is one of his servants
- Georgette, a peasant who is another of his servants
- Chrysalde, one of his friends
- Horace, a young man in love with Agnès
- Oronte, another friend of Arnolphe's, and father of Horace
- Enrique, Chrysalde's brother-in-law, and father of Agnès
The scene is a square in a provincial town.