Characters

The most important characters in Ernest Hemingway’s story “The Sea Change” are a young man named Phil and a girl who remains unnamed throughout the story.

“The Sea Change” uses dialogue and a third-person point of view to describe the girl. Phil is probably the girl’s boyfriend. He is referred to as “the man” through the whole story, but readers learn his name from his dialogue with the girl.

James, a secondary character, is the barman in the café where the two main characters have a discussion. James in an outside observer of the couple, but he does not seem to notice that they have been arguing and have just split up. To James, the couple are still “handsome” and Phil appears to have had a good summer. By remaining neutral, James reminds readers of the interior nature of Phil’s “sea change”, demonstrating that many transformational experiences are not visible to external observers.

Two other characters - bar customers - appear briefly in the story.

You can read the full characterizations of the main characters, the girl and Phil, in the next pages.