Whistler Characters

The narrator and protagonist, a teacher and the stepmother to Jonathan's daughters. She reconnects with Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, after more than forty years and works to uncover her family's hidden history. She is defined by her honesty about childhood, her devotion to Eddie, and her desire to understand the past.

Arc: She moves from lying about the car accident to pressing her mother for the truth and accompanying Eddie through his illness. Along the way she reconciles with her stepdaughters, her sister, and her own memories, becoming the keeper of the family story.

• Eddie Triplett — her former stepfather, whom she calls family and takes to chemotherapy
• Jonathan Fuller — her husband
• Leda — her sister
• Abigail Ekker — her mother
• Neil 'Buddy' Zabriskie — her late father
• Lucas Ekker — her mother's third husband
• Sydney — her stepdaughter
• Rachel — her stepdaughter
• Candy Fuller — Jonathan's late first wife, whose rabbit collection she lives with

Daphne's former stepfather and a retired book editor. He is gay and spent his life hiding his love for Skip Hotalling, including during his marriage to Abigail. He reconnects with Daphne and gradually tells her the truth about his past.

Arc: After a lifetime of concealment and self-denial, he moves toward openness with Daphne. In retirement and illness he accepts impermanence, asks Daphne to tell him when he is dead, and is cared for by the people who love him.

• Daphne Fuller — his former stepdaughter, whom he calls his daughter
• Leda — his former stepdaughter
• Abigail Ekker — his ex-wife
• Skip Hotalling — his college lover and lifelong secret partner
• Polly Hotalling — Skip's wife
• Jonathan Fuller — Daphne's husband, who arranged his oncologist
• Neil 'Buddy' Zabriskie — his ex-wife's first husband, who visited him in the hospital
• Mary Carter — the Wyoming rancher whose story he tried to buy
• Whistler — the horse in the photograph he kept

Daphne's husband and a retired hospital administrator. He is the one who spots Eddie at the Met, and he supports Daphne through the reunion. He is also a widower whose first wife, Candy, died of melanoma.

Arc: Retirement and clearing his mother's house make him confront mortality and travel. He admits he left Candy alone during her chemo and vows never to leave Daphne behind.

• Daphne Fuller — his wife
• Candy Fuller — his late first wife
• Sydney — his daughter
• Rachel — his daughter
• Bea — his sister
• Eddie Triplett — a family friend
• Neil 'Buddy' Zabriskie — a patient he helped before his death
• Skip Hotalling — a fellow hospital-administration buyout taker

Daphne's younger sister, a clinical psychologist who writes the New York Times column 'Your Therapist.' She hosts Daphne and is deeply invested in hearing the family's full story. She is also a mother to Henry, Wynn, and Clare.

Arc: She carries her own guilt about Eddie's departure and finally gets the truth after forty-four years. She supports Daphne through the discoveries and later through Lucas's death.

• Daphne Fuller — her sister
• Eddie Triplett — her former stepfather
• Abigail Ekker — her mother
• Steve — her husband
• Henry — her son
• Wynn — her daughter
• Clare — her daughter
• Neil 'Buddy' Zabriskie — her late father
• Lucas Ekker — her mother's third husband

Daphne and Leda's mother, a former publicist who scrubbed Eddie from their lives after discovering he was gay. She later married Lucas Ekker. She reveals to Daphne that she always knew Eddie was gay and offered to love him if he would give up Skip.

Arc: She moves from silence to frank confession, and in old age exchanges notes with Eddie. Eddie says she never got over Buddy Zabriskie, her first love.

• Daphne Fuller — her daughter
• Leda — her daughter
• Eddie Triplett — her ex-husband
• Neil 'Buddy' Zabriskie — her first husband
• Lucas Ekker — her third husband
• Christopher — her son
• Matthew — her son
• Lyle — her son

Eddie's college roommate, first love, and lifelong secret partner, and Polly's husband. He appears as a gracious host at his fiftieth anniversary party, but Daphne sees the cost of his bright veneer. He continues meeting Eddie in secret for decades.

Arc: He maintains a double life, doing Eddie's taxes and supporting him through illness. In the hospital after Eddie's accident, he broke down with his head on Eddie's chest.

• Eddie Triplett — his college lover and secret partner
• Polly Hotalling — his wife
• Daphne Fuller — his dinner companion at the anniversary party
• Jonathan Fuller — a fellow hospital-administration buyout taker

Skip's wife and co-host of the fiftieth anniversary party, formerly Polly Wellons. She recognizes Daphne from childhood and later invites the family to brunch. She is anxious about Eddie's health and wants to be treated as family.

Arc: Her simmering fear that Eddie's leukemia has returned erupts at brunch, where she breaks down; after being reassured she regroups and sends guests off with leftovers. She is described as having taken Eddie in and not asking questions about Skip's visits.

• Skip Hotalling — her husband
• Eddie Triplett — her husband's old friend
• Daphne Fuller — a guest she confronts
• Jonathan Fuller — a guest who comforts her

Abigail's third husband and author of the Positivity! books. In private he complains about weeds and wants his book adopted as a school textbook. At age ninety he dies in the backyard after investing in a mushroom-casket company.

Arc: He remains oblivious to the gap between Positivity and real life, and his death is calm enough that Eddie calls it 'a nice death.'

• Abigail Ekker — his wife
• Daphne Fuller — his wife's daughter
• Leda — his wife's daughter
• Christopher — his son
• Matthew — his son
• Lyle — his son

Daphne and Leda's late father, a fisherman and former football player who died of metastatic melanoma. He was true to himself and would not give up the ocean. He gave Daphne a copy of Men's Lives and put the space blanket in the car.

Arc: Already dead in the present, he appears through memory and dreams, including his final trip to Big Sur and death on the plane. Eddie remembers him warmly and says Abigail never got over him.

• Daphne Fuller — his daughter
• Leda — his daughter
• Abigail Ekker — his ex-wife
• Eddie Triplett — his ex-wife's second husband, whom he visited in the hospital
• Uncle Jay — his brother
• Jonathan Fuller — the hospital administrator who handled his death

Leda and Steve's son, an observant young man who tells Daphne he thinks Eddie is gay and that this is probably why her mother divorced him. He also brings Daphne water and Bufferin after the party.

Arc: No major arc; he supplies a crucial clue about Eddie's sexuality and performs small acts of caretaking.

• Leda — his mother
• Steve — his father
• Daphne Fuller — his aunt
• Eddie Triplett — his aunt's former stepfather

Leda's husband and Henry's father. He goes for runs with Henry, hosts Eddie at the apartment, and asks whose anniversary party it is.

Arc: Minor supporting presence in family scenes.

• Leda — his wife
• Henry — his son
• Eddie Triplett — a guest in their building

Jonathan's first wife, who died at forty of metastatic melanoma and collected rabbit paintings. Jonathan was too afraid to stay with her during chemotherapy.

Arc: Remembered only; her unfulfilled travel dreams and rabbit collection shape Jonathan's present.

• Jonathan Fuller — her husband
• Sydney — her daughter
• Rachel — her daughter
• Daphne Fuller — Jonathan's current wife, who lives among her collection

Jonathan's older daughter, who starts medical school and finds a valuable lamp. She gradually bonds with Daphne and Leda through movie nights.

Arc: Moves from distance to closer family connection with Daphne.

• Jonathan Fuller — her father
• Candy Fuller — her late mother
• Daphne Fuller — her stepmother
• Rachel — her sister

Jonathan's younger daughter, who cries over Daphne's Dutch oven in the pantry. She later grows closer to Daphne and Leda through movie nights.

Arc: She moves from sadness about family changes to warmer connection with Daphne.

• Jonathan Fuller — her father
• Candy Fuller — her late mother
• Daphne Fuller — her stepmother
• Sydney — her sister

A Wyoming rancher whose story Eddie tried to buy as a book. She talked to him several times but never wrote it, and later died. Daphne retells her story as one of a woman brought back to her ranch by her horse after a fall.

Arc: Appears only through memory and story; Eddie says she wanted to leave.

• Eddie Triplett — the editor who pursued her story
• Whistler — the horse who brought her home

The horse in Mary Carter's story and in a photograph Eddie kept on his desk. Daphne insists 'Whistler was real.'

Arc: No arc; serves as a symbol of memory and surviving love.

• Eddie Triplett — kept her photograph
• Mary Carter — her owner

Jonathan's sister who helped care for their mother and later clears the parents' house. She finds a hidden lockbox and travels with Jonathan to Norway.

Arc: Minor supporting role in Jonathan's family clean-out.

• Jonathan Fuller — her brother
• Daphne Fuller — her sister-in-law

Eddie's oncologist, practicing on the Upper East Side, who administers his chemotherapy.

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — his oncologist

Daphne's former student who recognizes her at a crashed wedding, announces her engagement, and says Daphne was her favorite teacher.

Arc: No arc; a brief reunion.

• Daphne Fuller — her favorite former English teacher
• Eddie Triplett — met as Ed Triplett

Daphne's college love who majored in biology, played outfield, wrote her a sestina, and later left her for Breelyn.

Arc: No arc; memory only.

• Daphne Fuller — his former college girlfriend
• Breelyn — he left Daphne for her

A woman at the Hotalling party who asks Eddie for book recommendations, mistakes Daphne for a new editor, and wants to hear Eddie's story at lunch.

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — acquaintance
• Daphne Fuller — new acquaintance

Abigail and Lucas's son and one of Daphne and Leda's 'sort-of brothers.' He greets the sisters at Lucas's death and notes that Lyle never leaves work.

Arc: Minor; appears at the death scene.

• Lucas Ekker — his father
• Abigail Ekker — his mother
• Daphne Fuller — his half-sister
• Leda — his half-sister
• Paula — his wife
• Sean — his son

Abigail and Lucas's son, who comes out as gay the summer after his freshman year of college and is the only person Abigail ever told about Eddie. He cries 'You came!' when Daphne and Leda arrive for Lucas's death.

Arc: Minor; appears in memory and at the death scene.

• Lucas Ekker — his father
• Abigail Ekker — his mother
• Daphne Fuller — his half-sister
• Leda — his half-sister
• Christopher — his brother

Christopher's wife, who lets out a little howl of joy at seeing Daphne and Leda and says to let Lyle hide.

Arc: No arc.

• Christopher — her husband
• Sean — her son
• Lyle — family member
• Daphne Fuller — family
• Leda — family

Christopher and Paula's older son, who asks whether Lucas really wanted to be eaten by mushrooms; Leda comforts him with an arm around his shoulder.

Arc: No arc.

• Christopher — his father
• Paula — his mother
• Lucas Ekker — his grandfather, implied

A family member who never leaves work and is absent from the gathering at Lucas's death; he was at the house the previous night until nine o'clock.

Arc: No arc.

• Abigail Ekker — his mother, implied
• Christopher — his brother, implied
• Matthew — his brother, implied
• Daphne Fuller — family
• Leda — family

One of Leda's daughters, not yet home; the narrator sleeps in her room under her Ohio Star quilt.

Arc: No arc.

• Leda — her mother, implied
• Clare — her sister
• Daphne Fuller — her aunt

One of Leda's daughters, mentioned as not yet home.

Arc: No arc.

• Leda — her mother, implied
• Wynn — her sister
• Daphne Fuller — her aunt

Buddy's brother, who meets Daphne at the airport after Buddy's death and sits beside his brother's body.

Arc: No arc; memory only.

• Neil 'Buddy' Zabriskie — his brother
• Daphne Fuller — his niece

The doorman at Leda's building who whistles to get Leda's attention.

Arc: No arc.

• Leda — doorman at her building

Eddie's doorman, who hails a cab and ushers Eddie and Daphne into his building.

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — calls him Mr. Triplett

Eddie's receptionist, who asks Daphne if she is sure she wants to go to lunch with Eddie and says she doesn't look like him.

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — his receptionist

Eddie's friend with a cold who could not attend the Hotalling party; her place card is used for Daphne.

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — friend

One of the Hotalling children, who shakes Daphne's hand and jokes about losing her inheritance to the new 'daughter.'

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — her godfather, calls him uncle
• Skip Hotalling — her father
• Polly Hotalling — her mother
• Daphne Fuller — just met

One of the Hotalling children, who jokes that Eddie doesn't have a daughter and asks what closet he has been keeping her in.

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — calls him uncle
• Skip Hotalling — his father
• Polly Hotalling — his mother
• Daphne Fuller — just met

One of the Hotalling children, who shakes Daphne's hand when Eddie introduces her as his daughter.

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — calls him uncle
• Skip Hotalling — his father
• Polly Hotalling — his mother
• Daphne Fuller — just met

One of the Hotalling children, who shakes Daphne's hand when Eddie introduces her as his daughter.

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — calls him uncle
• Skip Hotalling — her father
• Polly Hotalling — her mother
• Daphne Fuller — just met

Eddie's older brother, mentioned but not present.

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — his brother

Eddie's younger sister, mentioned but not present.

Arc: No arc.

• Eddie Triplett — her brother

The woman Fred Bowen left Daphne for; mentioned only.

Arc: No arc.

• Fred Bowen — her partner