Karakterler

Major İhsan Bey

Previously a handsome, unassuming young officer, he encounters Feride in the hospital (as a nurse working for Doctor Hayrullah) after being severely wounded in the war, during which he lost his arm and part of his face (a deep wound starting from the eye and eyebrow). Believing his face has become hideous, he becomes irritable, but falls in love with Feride's innocent and cheerful nature. Despite proposing to her, he honorably realizes that she accepted him out of pity and chooses to reject the proposal.

Doktor Hayrullah Bey

He is a military doctor who appears like a shield at the most critical points of Feride's life, during her years in Kuşadası and at the farm. He is a man of noble spirit who dedicated his youth entirely to the military, books, and patients, and who, after losing his wife at a young age, always hid his true self behind a rough 'Uncle Bear' facade. To cut through the wave of disgusting rumors directed at Feride and to save her reputation, he first disregards his own old age to fight with the school inspector, and then enters into a formal marriage with Feride to stand up against the bigoted morality of the entire town. His true intention is to secretly deliver the diary of this fierce girl's eternal love for Kâmran to Kâmran and reunite them.

Feride

Feride, who earned the nickname 'Çalıkuşu' (Wren) during her childhood due to her mischief and restless nature, grew up in her aunts' mansion in Istanbul and as a boarder at Dame de Sion. She lost her mother first and then her father at a young age. She and her cousin Kâmran fell in love and became engaged; however, days before their wedding, she learned that Kâmran had betrayed her with a woman named Münevver. Placing her pride above all else, Feride left Kâmran, fled the mansion, and went to the challenging villages and towns of Anatolia as a teacher through the Ministry of National Education. Throughout her journey, due to her beauty (which earned her the nickname Gülbeşeker) and being a single woman, she was repeatedly subjected to baseless slanders and gossip. She suffered a great collapse when she lost Munise, whom she had adopted in Zeyniler. Eventually, Doctor Hayrullah Bey married her on paper to protect her, and through his will, forced Feride to return to Kâmran, the greatest love and the deepest wound of her life.

Kâmran

Kâmran, the son of Feride's aunt in Istanbul, is a polite, handsome young man with a European education. Despite loving Feride madly, he succumbs to his weaknesses during a trip to Europe and gets close to a woman named Münevver ('Sarı Çiçek'). When Feride finds out and leaves him, Kâmran suffers a great collapse. Forced by necessity and pity due to Münevver's illness, he marries her. For many years throughout his wife's illness, he cares for her only out of conscience, but he never truly forgets Feride in his heart and constantly suffers from hidden remorse.

Müjgân

Daughter of Aziz Bey, she is a mutual cousin and playmate of Kâmran and Feride. Being three years older than Feride, she always acts as an authority figure and mother-surrogate to her. She is the only person who knows of the love for Kâmran within Feride and strives to reconcile them. Throughout this entire story, she has served as the keeper of secrets.

Munise

Living in poverty, neglect, and exclusion in Zeyniler village, Munise becomes a constant subject of ridicule because her mother ran off with an officer. Her stepmother beats and crushes her. Feride is deeply moved by Munise's helplessness and natural beauty, adopting her and placing her at the center of her life. Unfortunately, this beautiful and delicate child catches diphtheria in Kuşadası and dies in Feride's arms.