Character guide

Cornelli Hellmut

major

Also known as Cornelli, Dear Cornelli, incomparable Cornelli, Miss Cornelli Hellmut

A motherless girl at Iller Stream who would rather muck out the stable than embroider, and who answers every scolding with a fury she can barely hold.

Dino Halm

major

Also known as Dino, Only Dino

A bedridden boy with apple-red cheeks and a shelf of comic books, who reads Cornelli's bitterness so accurately that he becomes the first person she cannot dismiss.

Martha Wolf

supporting

Also known as Old Martha, Martha Wolf, old Martha, Mrs. Martha, stupid Martha

The old housekeeper whose carnation pots and patient questions keep a door open for Cornelli when the rest of the household has shut its own.

Mux

supporting

Also known as Little Mux

A small boy who clings to Cornelli's skirts and clamors at Dino's door, wanting her attention all to himself and sulking loudly when he loses it.

Agnes

supporting

Also known as Even Agnes

A girl with a songbook and a quick ear who discovers Cornelli's bell-clear voice and immediately starts planning duets, festivals, and a life of shared music.

Esther

supporting

A servant of long standing at the Hellmut house, named by a departing governess as one of the 'old house-rats' she could not tolerate.

Mr. Hellmut

supporting

Also known as Director Hellmut, Director

Mr. Hellmut runs the iron foundry and the household at Iller-Stream with the same exacting discipline, and his shy, unruly Cornelli is a daily reproach he does not know how to answer. Watching Mrs. Halm's bright, well-mannered children, he confesses to himself that he cannot bear the comparison. His stiff, grieving distance is the weather Cornelli lives under, and his reluctant permission for her to stay in town sets the whole story quietly in motion.

Nika Halm

minor

Also known as Nika

A member of the Halm family, possibly Dino's relative.

Miss Mina

minor

Also known as Mina

A governess or teacher in the Hellmut household.

Matthew

minor

Also known as old Matthew, Old Matthew

An elderly servant or worker on the estate.

Miss Kitty Dorner

supporting

Also known as Kitty Dorner, Miss Dorner, Kitty

Miss Dorner arrives to oversee Cornelli's upbringing and promptly turns the house into a court of manners, accusing the child of trampling the sofa and threatening punishment for her tomboyish tricks. She is certain of her own judgment and quick to cite Cornelli's sensitive father as leverage, which only hardens the girl's silence. Her unyielding discipline is the pressure that makes Cornelli's loneliness visible to everyone around her.

Mrs. Halm

supporting

Mrs. Halm meets Director Hellmut with such gentle courtesy that he grants her request almost before she finishes it, and she quietly instructs her children to say nothing about Cornelli's strange hair. Her home, full of apple peels and lively Agnes and little Mux, offers the girl a version of family she has never had. Her patient welcome gives Cornelli the first safe place to be seen, and the contrast with Iller-Stream sharpens everything the child is missing.

Frederick Hellmut

minor

Also known as Frederick

A relative of Cornelli, possibly a cousin or brother.

Miss Grindelen

minor

A strict teacher or governess who instructs Cornelli.

Mother

minor

Also known as VIII A Mother

A maternal figure, possibly referring to Mrs. Halm or Cornelli's memory.

Father

minor

Generic term for Cornelli's father, Mr. Hellmut.

Trina

minor

Also known as fat little Trina

A young servant girl in the Hellmut household.

Cornelia

minor

A name sometimes used for Cornelli, possibly a formal variant.

Papa

minor

Also known as Dear Papa

Cornelli's affectionate term for her father, Mr. Hellmut.

Mr. Schaller

minor

A local man who interacts with the Hellmut family.

Mama

minor

Cornelli's deceased mother, remembered fondly.

Mr. Maelinger

minor

Also known as Mr. Malinger

A businessman or acquaintance of Mr. Hellmut.

Betty

minor

A servant or young girl in the household.