Sara Crewe

Miss Minchin

Miss Minchin is Sara's headmistress and legal guardian after Captain Crewe's death, treating her cruelly and exploiting her as a servant.

Becky

Becky, the scullery maid, becomes Sara's close friend and ally, sharing hardships and kindness.

Mr. Carrisford

Mr. Carrisford is Sara's father's business partner and becomes her legal guardian and benefactor, restoring her fortune.

Emily

Emily is Sara's beloved doll, treated as a confidante and symbol of her imagination and resilience.

Lavinia Herbert

Lavinia is Sara's jealous and spiteful classmate who delights in her downfall and taunts her.

Captain Crewe

Captain Crewe is Sara's loving and doting father who indulges her imagination and provides for her before his death.

Ram Dass

Ram Dass, Mr. Carrisford's servant, secretly brings Sara comforts and gifts, becoming a silent benefactor.

Jessie

Jessie is a fellow student at Miss Minchin's seminary, generally neutral but sometimes influenced by Lavinia's cruelty.

Melchisedec

Melchisedec is a friendly rat that Sara befriends in her attic, sharing her crumbs and companionship.

Guy Clarence

Guy Clarence is a young boy from the family next door who becomes curious about Sara and shares small kindnesses.

Miss Minchin

Miss Minchin is Sara's headmistress and legal guardian after Captain Crewe's death, treating her cruelly and exploiting her as a servant.

Miss Minchin

Miss Minchin is Sara's headmistress and legal guardian after Captain Crewe's death, treating her cruelly and exploiting her as a servant.

The Whole of the Story

Central character of the story, whose experiences at Miss Minchin's are being expanded upon.

A Little Princess

The protagonist, a imaginative and kind-hearted girl who arrives at Miss Minchin's Seminary.

Sara

Introduced as a seven-year-old girl with an old-fashioned, thoughtful nature; arrives in London from Bombay with her father; loves books and storytelling; chooses a doll named Emily as her companion.

A French Lesson

Sara enters the schoolroom for the first time, demonstrates her fluency in French, and shows her imaginative nature by pretending her doll Emily can read and talk.

Ermengarde

Sara befriends Ermengarde, shares her imaginative stories, and reveals her pain over her father's departure.

Lottie

Sara demonstrates humility and kindness despite being favored by Miss Minchin. She uses her imagination to comfort Lottie and becomes an adoptive mother figure.

Becky

Sara uses her storytelling gift to captivate others and shows kindness to Becky, treating her as an equal and promising to share her stories.

The Diamond-Mines

Defends her 'princess' pretense with dignity; secretly shares food and stories with Becky; receives a letter from her father about the diamond mines.

The Diamond-Mines Again

Celebrates her eleventh birthday with a party, receives the Last Doll, and later learns of her father's death and her sudden poverty.

In the Attic

Endures the first night in the attic, grieves her father's death, and begins her new life as a drudge, finding solace in pretending her situation is part of a war.

Melchisedec

Sara comforts Lottie about her attic room and later shows Ermengarde her friendship with the rat Melchisedec, explaining how she uses imagination to endure her hardships.

The Indian Gentleman

Sara endures her lonely and shabby life, feeling invisible as she walks the streets. She is humiliated when Guy Clarence mistakes her for a beggar, but she accepts his sixpence out of kindness.

Ram Dass

Maintains her princess persona to cope with Miss Minchin's abuse; confronts Miss Minchin after being boxed on the ears; receives Ram Dass with dignity; reaffirms her inner royalty.

The Other Side of the Wall

Sara imagines the lives of her neighbors, sympathizes with the Indian gentleman, and struggles to maintain her princess-like composure in the cold attic.

One of the Populace

Endures cold, hunger, and punishment; finds a fourpenny piece and buys buns; gives five buns to a beggar child, keeping one for herself.

What Melchisedec Heard and Saw

Mentioned as the child who is friend to all creatures, endures poverty, and inspires the secret plan.

The Magic

Uses her imagination to create a magical feast from old trunk items; shows empathy and kindness to Becky.

The Visitor

Sara maintains a cheerful and resilient demeanor despite Miss Minchin's punishment, buoyed by the secret comforts in her attic.

It Is the Child!

Brings back the monkey, reveals her past as Captain Crewe's daughter, and is identified as the lost child.

I Tried Not to Be

Sara is revealed as the heiress of the diamond mines and stands up to Miss Minchin, declaring she tried to remain a princess even in her darkest moments.

Anne

Sara tells her story to the Large Family, proposes a charity for hungry children, and reunites with the beggar child Anne.