Timofey Pavlovich Pnin —The eponymous absent-minded Russian émigré Professor who teaches at Waindell College. Pnin's poor English (the narrator writes that "[i]f [Pnin's] Russian was music, his English was murder"), strange appearance and behaviourial oddities are the source of much hilarity. Pnin reappears in Nabokov's 1962 Pale Fire as a tenured professor at the fictional Wordsmith University.
Laurence G. Clements —A philosophy professor at Waindell College and Pnin's first landlord.
Joan Clements —Laurence's wife. Her name is mispronounced as "John" by Pnin.
Isabel Clements —The Clementses' daughter, who moved out after marrying and finding an engineering job in a Western state. She eventually gets divorced and moves back to her parents' home.
Dr. Liza Wind —Pnin's ex-wife and a psychologist who succeeds in manipulating Pnin, due to his ever-present love for her.
Dr. Eric Wind —Liza's husband for whom she left Pnin.
Victor Wind —Son of Liza and Eric, yet he despises his parents and their professions and views Pnin as his true father. He meets Pnin in Chapter 4, and although the encounter appears to be awkward, the aquamarine glass bowl that Victor buys Pnin (shown in Chapter 6) is a symbol of his admiration for the stubby Professor.
Betty Bliss —A plump woman of about 30 years of age who was formerly a student of Pnin's at Waindell. Pnin finds her attractive and once thought of courting her.
Vladimir Vladimirovich —The book's seemingly unreliable narrator who bears similarities to Nabokov himself, such as his interest in lepidoptery and his landed-gentry Russian émigré past.
Jack Cockerell —The Chairman of English at Waindell College, who considers Pnin "a joke" and does everything in his power to remove him from the faculty.
Mira Belochkin —Pnin's first love, a Jewish girl who was killed in a Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War.
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