Character guide

the young Fisherman

major

Also known as Fisherman, the Fisherman

He works the tides alone, reading wind and water for a living, and the night his net comes up heavy with a sleeping Mermaid he trades her freedom for a promise of song that fills his nets. What begins as a shrewd arrangement turns into longing, and he soon learns the Sea-folk's music cannot be kept at arm's length. His restless pursuit of what he cannot hold sets the whole story in motion.

the Star-Child

major

Also known as Star-Child

Taken in against the Woodcutter's wife's better judgment, he grows up white and delicate among swarthy village children, and his beauty becomes his excuse for contempt. He calls his playmates servants, stones the blind and maimed, and studies his own face in the priest's well with a lover's devotion. His foster parents' rebukes and the priest's gentle lessons glance off him, setting up the fall that his vanity is quietly earning.

the little Dwarf

supporting

Also known as the little dwarf, The little Dwarf

He is brought to the palace as a curiosity, a grotesque little performer to amuse the Infanta and her court on her special day. He dances his heart out, believing the laughter and applause are admiration, and never suspects the mirror waiting for him in the great hall. His innocence about how the court sees him is the quiet engine of the story's cruelty.

Little Hans

major

Also known as Hans, little Hans, Poor little Hans

Little Hans works his garden through every season, sharing flowers and fruit freely, and speaks of the rich Miller with unshakable devotion. The Miller talks beautifully about friendship while taking Hans's time, his wheelbarrow, and his last strength, and Hans mistakes the flattery for love. His inability to name the exploitation is what makes the Linnet's tale so quietly devastating.

the young King

major

Also known as The young King, The Young King

Found by hunters and revealed as the old King's heir, he trades sheepskin for embroidered robes and wanders Joyeuse in a daze of delight, chafing at court ceremony yet dazzled by every jewel. He is still half a woodland creature, wild-eyed on his cushions, and his fierce joy in beautiful things is both his charm and his danger. The night before his coronation, dreams of how such splendor is made will test whether the shepherd boy can still recognize himself.

the Witch

supporting

Also known as The Witch

She lives at the head of the bay, red hair loose and hemlock in hand, and senses the Fisherman's approach by the itching of her palm before he arrives. She offers him exactly what he wants, but only at a cost she is careful to spell out, and she enjoys the bargaining. Her cold competence makes her the story's first real test of what the Fisherman is willing to give up for love.

the Remarkable Rocket

major

Also known as the Rocket, Rocket, The Remarkable Rocket

The Remarkable Rocket holds court among the fireworks assembled for a royal wedding, treating every other rocket as an inferior being unworthy of his company. His vanity is so complete that he mistakes his own dampness for tears of sensibility and takes offense at the slightest slight, real or imagined. His refusal to launch on schedule, and his endless speeches about his own importance, set up the story's sharpest satire of self-love.

the Nightingale

major

Also known as Nightingale, little Nightingale, The Nightingale

The Nightingale overhears a young student weeping because he cannot find a red rose to give his beloved, and she resolves to help him, though he barely notices her. She understands love as something the student only talks about, while she is willing to give her lifeblood for it. Her night-long sacrifice, singing of love perfected by death, is the story's beating heart and its quiet rebuke to those who mistake feeling for performance.

the Swallow

major

Also known as little Swallow, the little Swallow, Swallow, Dear little Swallow

The Swallow plans to join his companions at the Second Cataract, where the river-horse and the yellow lions wait, but the Happy Prince's pleas keep him in the city one night longer. He has a good heart and weeps when asked to pluck out the Prince's sapphire eye, yet he obeys. His growing attachment to the Prince, and his willingness to postpone his own journey, drive the story's widening circle of mercy.

the Selfish Giant

major

Also known as the Giant, The Giant, The Selfish Giant

The Giant returns from seven years with his friend the Cornish ogre to find children playing in his garden, and he builds a high wall and a notice board to keep them out. Winter settles permanently on his grounds while Spring blooms everywhere else, and his loneliness grows as he watches the frozen world from his window. When the children creep back through a hole in the wall, his heart begins to thaw, and his longing for the one small boy he loved becomes the story's tender center.

the Priest

supporting

Also known as the priest, The Priest, The priest

The Priest stands between the ordinary faithful and the strange desires that pull the young Fisherman toward the sea and the Star-Child toward his own mysterious origins. He speaks with the authority of doctrine, insisting that love and penance must follow the forms the Church has set. His refusals and warnings sharpen the stories' central conflicts between earthly law and a wilder, more personal devotion.

Avarice

minor

A personification of greed encountered by the young King in a dream.

big Hugh the Miller

supporting

Also known as Miller, the Miller

Big Hugh the Miller owns a hundred sacks of flour, six milch cows, and a large flock of sheep, yet he never gives Little Hans anything, not even in winter when Hans goes hungry. He leans over the garden wall to pluck nosegays and fill his pockets, declaring that real friends should have everything in common. His self-serving sermons on unselfishness, told to a poor gardener who believes every word, make him the story's chilling portrait of friendship as exploitation.

Death

minor

A personified figure who appears in the young King's dream visions.

a Green Linnet

minor

Also known as the Linnet

A bird who narrates the story of the Devoted Friend.

The Flowers

minor

Anthropomorphic flowers that speak in the Giant's garden.

the Soul

supporting

When the Fisherman begs to be rid of his soul so he may join the Sea-folk, the Priest thunders that it is the noblest part of man, while the merchants mock it as worth less than a clipped coin. The Soul thus begins its strange career as a thing both priceless and worthless, severed from the only person who could value it. Its exile sets the story's central wager in motion: what a man gains, and loses, by trading the invisible for the desired.

the Infanta

supporting

Also known as The Infanta, The Infanta of Spain

The Infanta of Spain rules her birthday terrace with her mother's pretty petulance and proud curved mouth, while the King watches from a window, still wedded to Sorrow three years after the Queen's death. Her whimsical charm and the court's rigid etiquette frame a world of lavish display shadowed by loss and the cruelty of her uncle. Her celebration draws the curious and the poor toward the palace, setting the stage for the day's entertainments and their unexpected cost.

the Frog

minor

Also known as the little Frog

A talkative frog who comments on the Rocket's behavior.

the Duck

minor

A duck who converses with the Rocket in the garden.

The master of the galley

minor

Also known as the master of the galley

The captain of the galley that carries the young King's tapestry weavers.

One of the priests

minor

A priest who accompanies the main priest in the Star-Child story.

the Priest who was reading out of the Holy Book

minor

A priest reading scripture when the Star-Child is found.

the Dragonfly

minor

A dragonfly that briefly speaks with the Rocket.

Catherine Wheel

minor

Also known as the Catherine Wheel

A firework who argues with the Rocket about importance.

the Roman Candle

minor

A firework who speaks during the Rocket's story.

Don Pedro of Aragon

minor

Also known as Don Pedro

A nobleman mentioned as being hated by the Rocket's owner.

a Bengal Light

minor

Also known as the Bengal Light

A firework that comments on the Rocket's vanity.

the Tree

minor

A tree in the Giant's garden that blossoms for the children.

the Tartars

minor

A group of warriors mentioned in the young King's dream.

the Doctor

minor

A doctor who attends the Infanta's birthday festivities.

the North Wind

minor

A personified wind that helps the young Fisherman.

the Wolf

minor

Also known as The Wolf

A wolf that appears in the forest where the Star-Child wanders.

the Woodcutter

minor

The man who finds the Star-Child in the forest.

Poverty

minor

A personification of poverty seen in the young King's dream.

the Reed

minor

Also known as Reed, The Reed

A reed courted by the Swallow before he meets the Prince.

Dear Prince

minor

The Happy Prince's statue, addressed by the Swallow.

Jean le Fou

minor

A jester in the Infanta's court who entertains her.

The Afghans

minor

A group of warriors in the young King's dream vision.

Lady Desborough

minor

A noblewoman mentioned in the Rocket's story.

the Cactus

minor

A cactus that speaks to the Rocket in the garden.

Gold Stick

minor

A court official in the Infanta's household.

the Turtledoves

minor

Birds that coo in the Giant's garden.

the Hare

minor

Also known as the little Hare

A hare that appears in the forest with the Star-Child.