Character Analysis
Will White
Content Warning: The source material and this guide reference body image struggles, anti-gay bias, suicide, and addiction to alcohol.
Will is the dual protagonist of the story, initially characterized as a tough, brooding teenage boy with a casual attitude toward school and authority. Despite his rebellious personality, Will is fiercely loyal to his family, his grandmother and sister Amber, and to his friends like Josh, whom he helps with math work. Unlike most of his classmates, Will has no plans to attend college and no vision for his future. The text describes his laissez-faire attitude: “[…] he doesn’t know anything about how things are going to go. He plans for the next day, the next weekend. The next part he needs for his bike” (19). Beneath his tough exterior, Will hides his struggles with depression and guilt from his past. There’s a rumor Will bruised his face beating up a kid in the bathroom, but he actually harmed himself as a result of the trauma of his mother’s abandonment and his grief over his grandfather’s death, highlighting The Challenges of Complex Family Dynamics and Relationships. His unresolved trauma leads him to develop an addiction to alcohol and a criminal record. A chance encounter with Rosie Winters changes the course of Will’s life. Over the course of his arc, Will undergoes a significant transformation, learning to confront his past, develop healthier coping mechanisms, and ultimately find peace and purpose.
Will’s journey from rebellious outsider to mature adult isn’t linear and doesn’t come without its share of pain and heartache. Throughout his journey, Will wrestles with not only the guilt of his past but also of feeling partially responsible for Josh’s death. He endures Rosie’s rejection and the daily battle of overcoming depression. When Gran dies and he breaks up with Jen, Will grapples with loneliness and isolation and utilizes a combination of medication, therapy, and exercise to manage his mental health, underscoring the novel’s thematic interest in The Individualized Nature of Mental Health. His desire for Rosie, often conveyed in visceral, overwhelming metaphors, reveals his internal battle between vulnerability and self-protection. Will's journey toward self-awareness and acceptance centers learning to appreciate the constancy of life, love and the self rather than seeking external validation as the key factor in his emotional rehabilitation. Will completes his redemptive arc not through getting everything he wants but through learning to be content with each day and prioritizing his physical and mental health. In choosing to let Rosie go, Will allows both of them the freedom to find their way back to each other.
Rosie Winters
Rosie is the dual protagonist of Daverley’s story—a teenage girl hyper-focused on school and determined to succeed in her goals and live up to her family's expectations. Other than her close relationship with her twin Josh, Rosie’s family life remains a source of anxiety for her as she struggles to meet her mother’s unrealistic and unhealthy expectations for her appearance and academic performance. The text describes her inner turmoil, saying: “she wonders, as her feet pound the belt, why she is always trying so hard. Who she is trying for. Why everything matters, all of the time” (8). Rosie’s anxiety manifests in obsessive-compulsive behaviors, which provide her with temporary relief for her anxiety but often cause her to lose sleep. Other than Josh, Rosie’s only solace comes from music and poetry. Daverley frames poetry as a refuge and a means of self-definition in Rosie’s life—a way for her to channel her emotions into something tangible when she writes. Rosie struggles to find meaning and fulfillment in a world that often leaves her feeling misunderstood or disconnected, yet she has an intrinsic need to please others. Her developing relationship with Will fractures her paradigm of what a “good” life should be. It becomes a source of tension in her life as she not only wrestles with leaping into a relationship with him but also protecting Josh’s feelings. Losing Josh plunges Rosie into a season of grief that exacerbates her OCD and distances her from her two great loves, music and Will—forming the central crisis of her arc.
Rosie spends much of her twenties chasing after safety and security in her marriage to Simon, molding her body to fit diet culture standards and working an unfulfilling job, which takes a toll on her mental health— “she has never been completely fine; can’t remember a time when she was ever fine […] even before Josh died” (242). As Rosie becomes more self-aware, she becomes more self-assured and deliberate in her decisions. The turning point in her arc happens when she quits her job and leaves Simon, rejecting emotionally draining relationships and pursuits in favor of personal fulfillment. By the novel's conclusion, Daverley demonstrates Rosie’s personal growth in her ability to finally acknowledge her love for Will and articulate her desire for a life with him, resolving the novel’s thematic exploration of The Significance of Unspoken Words and Repressed Emotions. Daverley centers Rosie’s character development on finding a balance between her yearning for love and connection and her need for emotional security. Rosie comes to accept her vulnerability as a strength rather than a weakness, allowing her to be open to love and a life with Will, even if the outcome remains unknown.
Josh
Josh is Rosie’s twin brother and Will’s friend. Josh’s death becomes a defining moment in Rosie and Will’s relationship, and though he is gone for much of the novel, his memory and their unresolved feelings about his death loom over the protagonists for the rest of the story. Every time Rosie looks in the mirror, she sees her brother in her face as she wonders, “Sometimes it’s hard to untangle where Josh ends and she herself begins, what she really thinks and feels about something, whether she is trying to honor him instead of her herself” (297). Will’s birthday is forever marred by the memory that Josh died at Will’s birthday bonfire. Daverley characterizes Josh as a character searching for his identity—a gay man on a journey toward inhabiting his authentic self in a world which he believes cannot fully understand or support him. Josh experiences freedom in sharing his truth with Rosie, but his revelation causes tension in their relationship as they both have feelings for Will. Throughout the novel, their sibling relationship reflects the importance of trust, unconditional love, and acceptance. In Talking at Night, Josh’s youthful innocence and untimely death symbolize lost potential and the fragility of life.
Simon
Simon is Rosie’s college boyfriend, whom she later marries and divorces. Simon represents a stable, safe alternative to the chaos and emotional intensity of Rosie and Will's relationship. Daverley characterizes Simon as thoughtful, kind, and consistent, offering Rosie a sense of security that contrasts sharply with the unpredictability and deep emotional connection she shares with Will. Though Simon cares for Rosie in thoughtful ways, their relationship doesn’t quench her deeper emotional needs. Daverley positions Simon as a foil to Will, representing the path of safety and comfort rather than the emotional risk and passion that define Rosie's connection with Will. Simon’s character embodies practicality and dependability, yet their life together lacks the raw intensity and emotional depth Rosie craves. Simon doesn’t encourage her to pursue her creative passions and doesn’t notice when she’s struggling with her mental health. As Will observes, Simon lets “her get smaller, and thinner, and even quieter than she was. I bet the in-laws love [him]” (335). As Will spends time with Simon, one on one, he notes that Rosie married him because he reminds her of Josh, reinforcing the sense that her connection with Simon is closer to that of a sibling or a friend rather than a lover.
Mrs. Winters
Mrs. Winter is Rosie and Josh’s mother, an attorney whose demanding job often gives her debilitating migraines, yet she maintains rigorous order and control in her life. Since Mr. Winters barely acknowledges his family in Daverley’s story, Mrs. Winters emerges as the dominant presence in the household. The author depicts her as controlling and demanding, placing a high value on outward appearances and maintaining an emotional distance from her children. She’s particularly hard on Rosie, and her preoccupation with Rosie’s weight leads Rosie to develop disordered thinking and behaviors around food and exercise. The anxiety created by her mother’s control exacerbates Rosie’s obsessive-compulsive disorder and leads to diminished physical and emotional health. Though Rosie tries to connect with her mother by revealing the truth about Josh’s sexuality and asking for help when she wants to divorce Simon, Mrs. Winters holds fast to her fixed worldview and maintains that it’s better to put aside one’s identity or emotional needs to keep up appearances. Daverley further reinforces Mrs. Winter’s role as the story’s antagonist through her judgement of Will’s background and reputation, and the blame she places on him for Josh’s death—the guilt and shame of which follows Will for the rest of his life.
