The “American wife” is the protagonist of the story. Despite being the main character, the "American wife" remains unnamed during the course of the story. Throughout the story, the American wife becomes increasingly childlike. While at the beginning of the story, she is referred to as the “American wife,” she becomes the “girl” as the story progresses: “As the American girl passed the office…Something felt very small and tight inside the girl”.[2] The wife’s immaturity is also shown in the dialogue of the story. Several times she refers to the "kitty" ("I'm going down and get that kitty"/ "I want to have a kitty to sit on my lap")[2] instead of the more mature "cat" that would be expected from a grown woman.
Another important aspect of the American wife is her loneliness. Her husband treats her dismissively, although she desperately desires to be loved. She desires a stable home life, instead of a life of travel, where she can enjoy the basic luxuries of a husband and potential family, as well as a “kitty to sit on [her] lap” and “a table with [her] own silver and…candles.”[2] Some scholars have even suggested that the American wife is pregnant in the story, and if she is not, scholars have argued that she at least desires to be pregnant.