Beauty for Sale

A small-town girl who moves to New York seeking opportunity. She is hopeful and practical, gradually wrestling with love, loyalty, and propriety as she navigates a glamorous but morally complex city life.

Mrs. Merrick’s daughter and Letty’s friend, embodying glamour and appetite for a luxurious lifestyle. She pursues a wealthy romance and influences Letty’s choices, highlighting tensions between affection and material aspiration.

The protective boarding-house matron who offers guidance and concern for her guests’ reputations. She represents steady practicality amid the city’s temptations.

A wealthy, married lawyer who becomes Letty’s romantic interest. He embodies luxury and risk, challenging Letty’s boundaries and testing her willingness to pursue desire at social cost.

Madame Sonia’s mining engineer son who is involved with Jane and promises marriage. His presence intensifies the drama around loyalty, pregnancy, and future plans.

Letty’s devoted confidant and eventual fiancé, Carol’s brother who loves Letty. He represents genuine affection and the possibility of a stable, conventional life.

A salon employee secretly involved with Burt who becomes pregnant. Her subsequent tragedy reveals the harsh consequences of forbidden romance in a judgmental milieu.

Carol’s indulgent, wealthy boyfriend who pulls strings of social advantage and accompanies Carol on a Paris-bound trip. His role underscores wealth’s sway over romance.

A fellow salon employee who contributes to the real-world atmosphere of the workplace and the social dynamics of the salon crowd.

The architect of a new country mansion who appears in the unfolding plans tied to Mrs. Sherwood’s desires, representing status and future potential.

An uncredited member of the social circle whose presence adds to the network of relationships and pressures within the salon world.

Letty’s mother from the small town, grounding her daughter with traditional values and care for family reputation.