The Night Land · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
The Narrator
major
Also known as I, Mine, myself, mine, our
A lonely athlete-scholar who once loved Mirdath in an older age, now reborn to cross the Night Land and win her back.
Naani
major
Also known as the Maid, Maid, the Maid Naani, Naani drest pretty, herself
The Maid whose voice arrives by brain-elements in the dark, speaking words only Mirdath could have known, and drawing the narrator onward.
Lady Mirdath the Beautiful
supporting
Also known as Mirdath, the Lady Mirdath, Mirdath the Beautiful
Lady Mirdath the Beautiful is the neighbor and cousin the narrator meets by chance on a country road at sunset, when her voice answers his half-believing laugh with 'And thou also!' Their love grows into a union he later describes as the especial glory of Love, a fire burning all Littleness. When she dies, he is left alone with only the memory of her grace, and that loss becomes the wound driving his later quest.
Master Monstruwacan
supporting
Also known as the Monstruwacan, a Monstruwacan, the dear Master Monstruwacan, himself
The Master Monstruwacan governs the Last Redoubt and speaks with the great Voice of the Home-Call, urging lost youths to return before the House of Silence claims them. He watches the Instruments for signs of the Forces at work in the Land, and reports their ceasing when the Influence is cut off. His counsel and authority give the narrator a framework of hope and warning as he prepares to venture out.
The Diskos
supporting
Also known as the Diskos alway, it
The Diskos is the narrator's constant companion on his journey down the Mighty Slope, a weapon whose light seems astonishingly great against the surrounding darkness. He uses it only in extremity, for its power is not to be spent foolishly, and its glow both guides and betrays him. Its presence in his hand is a small comfort in the utter night, and its light marks the boundary between safety and whatever follows.
The Humpt Men
minor
Grotesque, hunchbacked creatures encountered in the Night Land.
The Hounds
minor
Also known as their
Monstrous canine beasts that hunt in the darkness of the Night Land.
The Monsters
minor
Also known as Monsters, Beast - Monsters, their
Generic term for the many terrifying entities inhabiting the Night Land.
The Beloved
minor
A poetic reference to Naani, the narrator's eternal love.
The Master Doctor
minor
A high-ranking healer in the Last Redoubt.
The Slug-Beast
minor
Also known as the Slug, the Beast
A giant slug-like monster encountered in the Night Land.
The Giants
minor
Also known as the Fixed Giants
Enormous, stationary beings seen in the Night Land.
The Silent Ones
minor
Also known as the Silent Ones Walk
Silent, menacing figures that wander the Night Land.
The Beast-Man
minor
Also known as the Beast, the Yellow Beast-Man
A yellow-skinned beast-man encountered in the Night Land.
The Monster Slug
minor
Also known as Monster
Another giant slug-like creature in the Night Land.
The Squat Man
minor
A short, brutish humanoid creature in the Night Land.
The Night-Hound
minor
Also known as the monstrous Hound, the Hound
A particularly fearsome hound-like creature in the Night Land.
Mistress Alison
minor
A woman mentioned in the narrator's past-life memories.
Sir Alfred Jarles
minor
Also known as Sir Jarles
A knight from the narrator's past-life recollections.
The Voice
minor
A mysterious voice that calls to the narrator in the Night Land.
