Careful

Johann is one of the two brothers training to be a butler for the Count. He harbors a dangerous, incestuously charged attraction to his mother Zenaida, which drives him to spy on her and even attempt to seduce her. Torn by guilt, he injures himself in a series of self-punishing acts and ultimately throws himself off a mountain.

Grigorss is Johann's brother, secretly loving Klara and consumed by a sense of family honor. He duels Count Knotkers to avenge his father’s name, ultimately killing the Count. Afterward, he is drawn into Klara's deadly schemes and dies in isolation in a mountain cave when another avalanche traps him.

Zenaida is the mother whose affections are complicated by jealousy and longing for Count Knotkers. She oscillates between love for the Count and resentment toward Franz, shaping the family’s fate with secrets and manipulation. After Knotkers' death, she hangs herself in the attic, a act witnessed by Franz.

Franz is the dead, blind father whose ghost haunts the living, warning of impending doom. He is paralyzed, mute, and wrapped in cobwebs, unable to influence events directly. The ghost's interactions with Franz underline the family’s guilt and the inescapable fate awaiting Tolzbad.

Count Knotkers is the reclusive master whom Tolzbad serves. He becomes the focal point of a deadly power struggle, and his life ends when Grigorss fatally stabs him during their confrontation.

Klara is the daughter of Herr Trotta who harbors an incestuous love for her father. She orchestrates Grigorss's involvement in the duel with Knotkers and unveils the truth of her father’s assault. She plans Knotkers' death and ultimately dies herself, after throwing herself into a sleigh in an act of tragic devotion to her father.

Herr Trotta is Klara’s father, a distant figure who ignites the vengeance plot by being the object of Klara and Grigorss’s plan. He is used as a pawn in a murder plot and dies in the avalanche triggered during the sleigh ride.

Sigleinde is Klara’s sister, a secondary figure whose presence underscores the family’s tangled loyalties. She joins Franz in seeking missing relatives only to confront the grim truth at the conclusion of the tale.

Gerda is the chained wild mountain girl who captures Klara’s imagination and serves as a catalyst for the revenge plot. Her image as a captive wild figure fuels Klara’s resolve and the sense that freedom is a dangerous illusion in Tolzbad.