David is the protagonist of Giovanni’s Room and the unreliable first-person narrator. David is an American expatriate in France who moved away to avoid persecution for his attraction to men. David describes himself vaguely as tall and blond, with a face “like a face you have seen many times” (3)—a description that highlights his uncertainty about his identity. He is “pushing thirty” (91), which makes him anxious about his future, particularly whether he wants to settle down in a traditional family like his father expects, or whether he wants to pursue his risky but loving relationship with Giovanni. Baldwin introduces David with reference to his ancestors’ colonial history of “conquer[ing] a continent” (3), tying David to a lineage of aggression and dominance that he perceives as essential to his masculine identity. David considers his dependency on Giovanni as a failure of his self, as he views himself as Giovanni’s “little girl” (142) rather than a man. David’s internal conflict about his failed identity, which he perceives as shameful, motivates his actions throughout the story.

David does not speak his true feelings aloud, and his narration is riddled with phrases like “I could not say anything more” (24).