Character guide

Mrs. Travers

major

Also known as Emma, Edith Travers, Edith

Mrs. Travers moves through the social world of the yacht as a woman whose 'detestable reputation of mental superiority' has left her admired by few and mistrusted by many. Her husband diagnoses her as 'imperfectly civilized'; she counters that she is the most severely disciplined person alive, a tension that defines her. Aboard the stranded Emma, where Lingard has built her a muslin-screened shelter, she becomes the hinge between the Europeans and the adventurer's cause, and her choices begin to carry weight for everyone.

Captain Lingard

major

Also known as Lingard, Tom Lingard, Tuan Lingard, Rajah Laut, King Tom

Lingard commands the grounded Emma, an old hulk crammed with muskets, cloth, and brass guns — the arsenal and war-chest of his private intervention in native affairs. Carter finds him listless and ravaged, a man of indomitable strength robbed of its fire, hiding a mystery even from his own crew. His secret passion, his pride as 'King Tom,' and his refusal to explain himself to anyone set the story's central pressure in motion.

Mr. Travers

supporting

Also known as Travers

Aboard the Emma, Mr. Travers lies in a cabin of austere comfort, recovering from an adventure he prefers to consider beneath his notice. He shams sleep, snaps at d'Alcacer, and dismisses his wife's decisions as having 'no possible object,' all while his vanity quietly reasserts itself. His refusal to see the situation clearly throws Mrs. Travers' own choices into sharper relief and exposes the hollowness of the society she has left behind.

Carter

supporting

Also known as Mr. Carter

Left behind on the Shore of Refuge, Carter took charge of two ships, kept them fit to sail or fight, and now reports to a captain he barely recognizes. He watches Lingard's ravaged face with an intuitive delicacy, hiding his shock and hoping for commendation. His loyalty and unromantic competence give the reader a grounded counterweight to Lingard's visionary obsession.

Jörgenson

supporting

Also known as Captain H. C. Jörgenson, old Jörgenson, Jaffir

Jörgenson keeps the Emma running, produces wicker chairs and packs of cards from her depths, and moves through the crisis with a fatalism that unnerves even Lingard. His 'intolerable mistrust of the life of men' is no pose; it shapes how he reads every alliance and every motive around him. He matters because his bleak certainty forces Lingard — and the reader — to reckon with what the whole enterprise may already have cost.

D'Alcacer

supporting

Also known as Mr. d'Alcacer, d'Alcacer

D'Alcacer endures the stranded nights with piquet, irony, and a refusal to be fooled by Mr. Travers' shammed sleep. He rows Mrs. Travers out to the sandbank before dawn and names the stakes plainly: 'There is room for a whole world of suffering on a sandbank.' His quiet perceptiveness makes him the story's most reliable witness to what the others will not admit.

Belarab

supporting

Belarab rules a fortified settlement where white traders, exiled princes, and sea-raiders all seek his favor, and his slow, dignified negotiations set the tempo of every crisis. He would rather mediate a ransom than shed the blood of True Believers, yet he keeps Tengga's ambitions and Daman's violence in view, ready to turn either to his advantage. His vacillation—wise to some, maddening to Hassim—makes him the pivot on which Lingard's whole rescue scheme must balance.

Hassim

supporting

Also known as Rajah Hassim, Tuan Hassim, Pata Hassim

Hassim travels with his sister Immada in the train of the indecisive Belarab, a stranger and a poor man whose only wealth is the far-off tale of his lost country. Courtly and restrained by tradition, he burns inwardly with anxiety as the chief answers his daily pleas with a single word, while the women's side of the camp works against him. His patience finally breaks into action, and his decision to leave Belarab for his white friend pulls the story toward the lagoon.

Immada

supporting

Also known as Mas Immada, Princess Immada

Immada shares her brother's wandering fate, the only companion of his life and a child of the same mother, brave as a man yet a very woman in her fears. She dreads the negotiations that hang on Belarab's caprice and the greed of his young wife, and her anguished doubts press Hassim toward desperate choices. Her hard lot is one of the private pities that drives Lingard's resolve to wake up the country.

Tengga

supporting

Tengga stands as the counterweight to Belarab's authority, a rival whose purposes and hopes Belarab believes he can topple with one shrewd offer. His boats appearing out of the morning mist turn a quiet hall of negotiation into a buzzing stockade and send Lingard running for the palisades. Even unseen, his threat shapes every bargain, forcing Belarab to choose between war, mediation, and the shadow of the sword.

Daman

supporting

Also known as Sherif Daman

Daman moves among the Illanun chiefs with half-closed eyes and a sword always within reach, a man who believes there is blood between him and all mankind. He welcomes Hassim only to let Lingard know the prisoners are beyond reach, calculating that without his brig the great white man is disarmed. His clever move forces Lingard to confront how little trust he commands—and how much of his strength is the brig itself.

Jaffir

minor

A loyal follower of Hassim, who carries messages and risks his life.

Shaw

minor

Also known as Mr. Shaw

The chief mate of Lingard's brig, the Lightning.

Haji Wasub

minor

Also known as Wasub

An old and trusted advisor to Belarab, often serving as an intermediary.

Sir John

minor

Also known as John

A British naval officer who appears in the later parts of the story.

Don Martin

minor

Also known as Martin

A Spanish guest on the yacht, companion to D'Alcacer.

Sentot

minor

A follower of Daman, involved in the conflicts.

Ningrat

minor

A follower of Daman, involved in the conflicts.

Moor

minor

A character mentioned in the context of the crew or local population.

Mosey

minor

A sailor on the yacht, part of the crew.

Dawson

minor

A sailor on the yacht, part of the crew.

Waal

minor

A character mentioned in the context of the crew or local population.

Serang

minor

The boatswain or leader of the native crew on Lingard's ship.

Lascar

minor

A sailor of Indian origin, part of the crew.

Sali

minor

A minor character, possibly a local or crew member.

Badroon

minor

A minor character, possibly a local or crew member.

Old Robinson

minor

Also known as Robinson

An old trader or seaman mentioned in the narrative.

Scott

minor

A minor character, possibly a crew member or local.