The Housemaid Characters: Full List & Analysis

Who drives the story

Main characters

Millie Calloway

A young woman with a criminal record — she killed a boy as a teenager to protect her best friend Kelsey — who takes a housemaid job out of desperation and ends up locked in an attic by the man she fell for. She survives by becoming, briefly, the thing everyone assumed she already was.

Appears in:: Part 1: A Job, a Room, a Warning; Part 2: The Husband Who Was Kind; Part 3: Nina's Version; Part 4: Four Teeth
Themes:: The performance of madness; A record as a cage; Kindness as bait; Punishment and reversal; Women rescuing women

Nina Winchester

The 'crazy wife' — a woman tortured by her husband for years, declared insane by his staged murder-suicide scheme, who hires Millie as a weapon. Her cruelty is a performance with a body count attached.

Appears in:: Part 1: A Job, a Room, a Warning; Part 2: The Husband Who Was Kind; Part 3: Nina's Version; Part 4: Four Teeth
Themes:: The performance of madness; A record as a cage; Kindness as bait; Punishment and reversal; Women rescuing women

Andrew Winchester

The charming husband whose kindness is the bait. He locks women in an attic and calls it punishment, until the last one locks him in.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Husband Who Was Kind; Part 3: Nina's Version; Part 4: Four Teeth
Themes:: The performance of madness; Kindness as bait; Punishment and reversal

Enzo

The Italian gardener who speaks limited English and says one word to Millie — 'Pericolo.' He saw Nina's bruises, stayed to guard her and Cecelia, and later convinces Nina to return for Millie.

Appears in:: Part 1: A Job, a Room, a Warning; Part 3: Nina's Version; Part 4: Four Teeth
Themes:: Women rescuing women

Cecelia

The Winchesters' daughter, a child used as a prop in Andrew's staged murder-suicide, who leaves the estate with Nina to start a new life.

Appears in:: Part 1: A Job, a Room, a Warning; Part 2: The Husband Who Was Kind; Part 3: Nina's Version; Part 4: Four Teeth

Also in the story

Supporting characters

Investigator Connors

The police investigator who rules Andrew's death an accident — and privately admits Andrew was engaged to his daughter Kathleen, who never fully recovered.

Appears in:: Part 4: Four Teeth

Lisa Killeffer

The woman who interviews Millie a year later, sent by Nina's recommendation, wearing a bruise her husband gave her.

Appears in:: Part 4: Four Teeth
Themes:: Women rescuing women

How they are connected

Key relationships

Nina Winchester Millie Calloway
The 'crazy wife' — a woman tortured by her husband for years, declared insane by his staged murder-suicide scheme, who hires Millie as a weapon.
Enzo Millie Calloway
The Italian gardener who speaks limited English and says one word to Millie — 'Pericolo.
Enzo Nina Winchester
' He saw Nina's bruises, stayed to guard her and Cecelia, and later convinces Nina to return for Millie.
Enzo Cecelia
' He saw Nina's bruises, stayed to guard her and Cecelia, and later convinces Nina to return for Millie.
Cecelia Nina Winchester
The Winchesters' daughter, a child used as a prop in Andrew's staged murder-suicide, who leaves the estate with Nina to start a new life.
Cecelia Andrew Winchester
The Winchesters' daughter, a child used as a prop in Andrew's staged murder-suicide, who leaves the estate with Nina to start a new life.
Investigator Connors Andrew Winchester
The police investigator who rules Andrew's death an accident — and privately admits Andrew was engaged to his daughter Kathleen, who never fully recovered.
Lisa Killeffer Millie Calloway
The woman who interviews Millie a year later, sent by Nina's recommendation, wearing a bruise her husband gave her.
Lisa Killeffer Nina Winchester
The woman who interviews Millie a year later, sent by Nina's recommendation, wearing a bruise her husband gave her.

Go deeper

The Housemaid themes & symbols

The performance of madness · A record as a cage · Kindness as bait · Punishment and reversal

Themes explained

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The full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.

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