# Lilith — Lilith character guide > Lilith in Lilith by George MacDonald. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Walking Lilith **First appearance:** 0001-lilith ## Snapshot Adam's first wife, gaunt and unsubmissive, whose refusal to repent makes her both prisoner and threat in a world she once preyed upon. ## Who they are Lilith returns to Adam's door a skeleton-princess, ashamed of her uncomeliness yet still erect between her elephants, still answering no one. She consents to open her hand and restore what she took, but murmurs that she does not know the Father — a confession of misery rather than faith. Her hunger, her hate, and her terrible beauty keep every mercy in the story conditional. ## Relationships ### [Mara](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/mara) _rivalry_ Lilith and Mara are locked in a bitter, ancient struggle for power and influence, each viewing the other as a direct threat. ### [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/eve) _family_ Eve and Lilith are bound by a complex, often strained familial connection as primordial figures, with Eve representing a more passive counterpart. ### [Adam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/adam) _rivalry_ Adam and Lilith share a history of conflict and mutual resentment, rooted in their divergent paths and opposing wills. ### [The Princess](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/the_princess) _rivalry_ Lilith views the Princess as a rival for dominion and attention, their interactions charged with jealousy and antagonism. ### [Adam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/adam) _rivalry_ Adam and Lilith share a history of conflict and mutual resentment, rooted in their divergent paths and opposing wills. ### [Mara](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/mara) _rivalry_ Lilith and Mara are locked in a bitter, ancient struggle for power and influence, each viewing the other as a direct threat. ### [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/eve) _family_ Eve and Lilith are bound by a complex, often strained familial connection as primordial figures, with Eve representing a more passive counterpart. ### [Adam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/adam) _rivalry_ Adam and Lilith share a history of conflict and mutual resentment, rooted in their divergent paths and opposing wills. ### [The Princess](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/the_princess) _rivalry_ Lilith views the Princess as a rival for dominion and attention, their interactions charged with jealousy and antagonism. ### [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/eve) _family_ Eve and Lilith are bound by a complex, often strained familial connection as primordial figures, with Eve representing a more passive counterpart. ## In the story ### [Lilith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/lilith) Central figure of the chapter, introduced as a complex and enigmatic presence. ### [XI: The Evil Wood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xi-the-evil-wood) The woman with dead eyes and a dark spot who moves above the battle, urging the combatants to slay one another. ### [XVIII: Dead or Alive?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xviii-dead-or-alive) The emaciated, nearly dead woman found by Vane; her hand is clenched around something small. ### [XIX: The White Leech](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xix-the-white-leech) Lilith awakens from her deathlike trance, catches the white leech biting Vane, and expresses fury and ingratitude toward him for saving her. ### [XX: Gone!—But How?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xx-gone-but-how) Lilith flees from Vane, rebuffs his pleas, drains his strength with an embrace, and transforms into a pale beast that speeds toward the city. ### [XXII: Bulika](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxii-bulika) Referenced as the woman Vane brought to life; he suspects her of evil and fears for the Little Ones. ### [XXIV: The White Leopardess](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxiv-the-white-leopardess) The muffled woman of the desert, implied to be Lilith, leads Vane to a room and later takes the newborn baby from the leopardess. ### [XXVI: A Battle Royal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxvi-a-battle-royal) Implied as the white leopardess who fights the princess and rescues the baby. ### [The Silent Fountain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxvii-the-silent-fountain) Implied as the cat-woman whom the princess hates and blames for her wounds. ### [XXIX: The Persian Cat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxix-the-persian-cat) Lilith appears as a Persian cat, then transforms into a leopardess and finally a woman. She refuses to repent and is imprisoned. ### [Adam Explains](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxx-adam-explains) The leopardess confined in the closet; breaks loose and flees through the mirror, pursued by Mara; her wound is said to never close until she chooses good. ### [Lona's Narrative](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxxiii-lona-s-narrative) Referenced as Lona's mother, with her beauty softened by childlikeness and deepened by motherhood. ### [Preparation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxxiv-preparation) Referred to as the wicked princess of Bulika, feared as a leopardess, and the target of the expedition. ### [The Little Ones in Bulika](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxxv-the-little-ones-in-bulika) Not directly present, but the white leopardess may be associated with her; the leopardess aids the children. ### [Mother and Daughter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxxvi-mother-and-daughter) Lilith sits in the black hall, sees her own spotted side, and murders Lona when she approaches. ### [To the House of Bitterness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxxviii-to-the-house-of-bitterness) Bound and seemingly dead, but attacks Vane in the night; demands her daughter and is taken to the House of Bitterness. ### [That Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxxix-that-night) Lilith is the central figure of the chapter, enduring a crisis of will and identity, resisting repentance but ultimately yielding to Mara's guidance. ### [XL: The House of Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xl-the-house-of-death) In despair, she resists repentance but eventually submits to having her hand severed to sleep. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters/lilith - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lilith_se/characters