Once Upon a Time Characters

The unnamed narrator, a woman writer, is the protagonist and narrator of the frame story. It is implied that, like the man and the woman in the inner story, the narrator lives in apartheid-era South… read analysis of The Narrator

One of the protagonists of the second story, the man is the woman’s husband and the little boy’s father. Though both the man and his wife are preoccupied with their material possessions, the… read analysis of The Man / The Husband

One of the protagonists of the second story, the woman is the little boy’s mother and the man’s wife. The woman is far more sensitive and compassionate toward other people’s suffering than her… read analysis of The Woman / The Wife

The little boy is the only child of the man and the woman. Given his age, the little boy is largely oblivious to his parents’ safety concerns throughout the story. They fear that the… read analysis of The Little Boy / The Son

The husband’s mother is the little boy’s grandmother and the woman’s mother-in-law. Though little is directly revealed about her, she is often referred to as “that wise old witch” throughout the story… read analysis of The Husband’s Mother