Character guide

The Empress

major

Also known as Empress

Carried off by a merchant and shipwrecked into the Blazing-World, she rises from captive stranger to absolute sovereign, wedding the Emperor and remaking the realm's government. Her restless curiosity drives her to summon the immaterial spirits and interrogate every order of creature about nature and the heavens. When the spirits report that war threatens her native country, her helplessness to send aid becomes the ache that tests her power and her love.

The Duchess of Newcastle

major

Also known as Duchess, the Duchess

Summoned by the Empress's longing for a companion from her own world, the Duchess arrives as confidante, co-ruler of the imagination, and the book's own authorial double. Their friendship is intimate and intellectual, a rare pairing of two women who build worlds together rather than compete for one. She matters because her presence turns the Empress's solitary empire into a dialogue about ambition, authorship, and what a woman may claim.

The Worm-men

supporting

Also known as the Worm - men, The Worm - men

Among the many specialized peoples the Empress consults, the Worm-men are her natural philosophers of the underground, reporting on metals, springs, and the secret anatomy of the earth. Their knowledge is precise yet partial, and their debates with the other orders expose how much any single creature cannot see. They matter because they embody the book's central pleasure: a ruler who would rather interrogate a worm than merely command it.

The Priests

supporting

Also known as the priests

The priests preside over the realm's devotion and are drawn into the Empress's wide-ranging inquiry into religion, souls, and the nature of the divine. Their authority sits uneasily beside a ruler who debates theology as freely as she does physics, and who claims her own direct commerce with immaterial spirits. They matter because they stage the book's sharpest question: what happens to established faith when a curious woman holds the throne.

Prudence

minor

Personification of prudence, a virtue discussed in the Empress's court.

Fortune

minor

Also known as Lady Fortune, Great Fortune

Personification of fortune, referenced as a guiding force in the narrative.

Honesty

minor

Personification of honesty, a virtue mentioned in the Empress's dialogues.

The Serpent

minor

Symbolic serpent in the Blazing World, representing temptation or wisdom.

Alexander

minor

Historical conqueror mentioned as a comparison to rulers.

Adam

minor

First man from Genesis, cited in theological discussions.

The Devil

minor

Satanic figure referenced in moral and religious contexts.

Plato

minor

Also known as divine Plato

Ancient philosopher invoked in debates about ideal forms and knowledge.

The Cabbalists

minor

Also known as Cabbalists

Mystical scholars whose teachings are discussed in the narrative.

The Cabbala

minor

Also known as Cabbala, a Cabbala

Esoteric system of interpretation referenced as a source of wisdom.

Fowls

minor

Bird-like inhabitants of the Blazing World, part of its diverse fauna.

Folly

minor

Personification of folly, contrasted with wisdom in the Empress's reflections.

Moses

minor

Biblical figure referenced in discussions of religion and law.

Caesar

minor

Roman emperor referenced in political analogies.

Edward Kelly

minor

Also known as Kelly

Alchemist and mystic mentioned in the context of occult knowledge.

Ben Jonson

minor

Playwright referenced as a literary figure.

Truth

minor

Also known as Beautiful Truth

Personification of truth, a concept explored in the Empress's inquiries.