Character guide

Willems

major

Also known as Peter Willems, young Willems, Mr. Willems, the great Willems, V Willems, Louis Willems

Willems survives on Almayer's grudging charity in Sambir, shunned by the settlement yet unable to leave the only world that tolerates him. His hollow cheeks and forgotten speech mark a man already half-swallowed by the forest, but his appetite for advantage has not died. When the Arab trader Abdulla offers him a way back into fortune, Willems becomes the pivot on which the whole settlement's fragile peace turns.

Almayer

major

Also known as Sambir, The unconscious Almayer, Nina Almayer

Almayer clings to his rotting trading post and his hopes for his daughter Nina, but his fortune depends entirely on Captain Lingard's protection and the loyalty of men like Willems. He watches his world dismantled from his own verandah, raging at slights he cannot avenge. His impotent fury and gnawing fear of poverty make him both pitiable and dangerous as the settlement's balance of power shifts.

Captain Lingard

major

Also known as Lingard, the puzzled Lingard, Tom Lingard, Rajah Laut, Captain Tom

Lingard built his reputation on daring and his fortune on the trust of Malay rulers and Dutch traders alike, and he wears his honorary title like a second skin. He plucked Willems from a quay as a runaway boy and set Almayer up in Sambir, believing loyalty would follow. His refusal to see betrayal coming, and his determination to reclaim what he considers his, drive the novel's central collision.

Babalatchi

supporting

Also known as the wakeful Babalatchi, O Babalatchi, IV Babalatchi, Suddenly Babalatchi

Babalatchi moves through the settlement's shadows, advising Lakamba, flattering Abdulla, and measuring every white man's weakness with his single eye. He despises the strong fools who rule by force yet knows he must use them to survive. His calm manipulation of Willems, and his willingness to let the white men destroy each other, make him the quiet architect of the story's turning points.

Aissa

major

Also known as the silent Aissa

Aissa gives Willems a devotion so absolute it terrifies him, demanding daily proof of a love she suspects is built on lies. She has no people of her own and clings to him with a jealousy sharpened by fear of the white women she imagines waiting in his past. Her hold on him, at once tender and unyielding, makes her the force that keeps him from escaping the consequences of his betrayal.

Syed Abdulla

supporting

Also known as Tuan Abdulla, Abdulla, Syed Abdulla bin Selim, Abdulla bin Selim

Syed Abdulla arrives in Sambir with money, patience, and a talent for letting others take the risks while he collects the rewards. He offers Willems a place in his designs and lets Babalatchi and Lakamba do the dangerous work of undermining Lingard's influence. His unhurried advance represents the new order displacing the old sea-king's personal rule, and his success reshapes every alliance in the settlement.

Lakamba

supporting

Also known as Tuan Lakamba, the startled Lakamba

Lakamba is a bull-necked adventurer who settled in Sambir expecting to dominate it and found old Patalolo already in quiet command. He schemes with the one-eyed Babalatchi in a riverside watch-house, listening to talk of the white men who keep arriving on Lingard's river. His thwarted ambition and willingness to trade in other people's secrets make him a slow-moving but persistent threat to the settlement's fragile order.

Joanna

supporting

Joanna has lived as Willems' wife under the protection of her mother and brother Leonard, tolerated rather than loved, guarded from every bodily hurt but never from his disdain. When his ruin arrives she does not weep as he expects; she stares at him with her upper lip drawn up and tells him he is less than dirt. Her sudden revolt strips away his last self-justification and forces the flight to Sambir that sets the novel's middle in motion.

Omar el Badavi

supporting

Also known as the blind Omar el Badavi, Omar, old Omar, Tuan Omar, Omar besar

Omar el Badavi was once a rover of the islands and now sits blind and venerable in the settlement, his daughter Aissa tending him while Arab traders like Abdulla pass through his enclosure. He is a figure of remembered violence and present dependence, his authority reduced to the weight of his name and the loyalty of his household. His presence ties the novel's Malay and Arab factions to an older, harder world of sea-raiding that the new trade is quietly replacing.

Ali

minor

Almayer's Malay servant and occasional messenger.

Rajah Patalolo

minor

Also known as The Rajah Patalolo, Patalolo, old Patalolo, the old Rajah

The old Rajah of Sambir, father of Lakamba's rival.

Hudig

minor

Also known as old Hudig, Mr. Hudig, the rich Hudig

A wealthy merchant in Macassar who employs Willems.

Mr. Vinck

minor

Also known as Vinck, absently Mr. Vinck

A clerk in Hudig's office in Macassar.

Leonard da Souza

minor

Also known as Leonard

Joanna's brother, who helps her search for Willems.

Mahmat Banjer

minor

Also known as Banjer, Mahmat

A Malay boatman and minor trader in Sambir.

Daoud Sahamin

minor

Also known as Sahamin, Daoud, The venerable Sahamin

An elderly Malay chief loyal to Patalolo.

Hamet Bahassoen

minor

Also known as Bahassoen, young Bahassoen

A young Arab trader allied with Abdulla.

Jim-Eng

minor

Also known as Jim, Jim - Eng

A Chinese trader and friend of Willems in Sambir.

Mrs. Vinck

minor

Wife of Mr. Vinck, appears briefly in Macassar.

Young Ford

minor

Also known as Ford

A young Englishman visiting Sambir on business.