# The Story of My Life — Character guide

> Key figures in The Story of My Life by Helen Keller.

- [Helen Keller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/helen_keller.md): Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, Helen loses sight and hearing as an infant and grows up wild, unreachable, and furious with longing until a teacher arrives who can touch her mind. Writing as an adult, she admits she paints t
- [Anne Sullivan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/anne_sullivan.md): Miss Sullivan arrives at Ivy Green as an outsider with her own hard history, and her letters to a friend supply the book's second, plainer voice on how Helen was actually taught. Her method is stubborn patience: spelling
- [Kate Adams Keller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/kate_adams_keller.md): Mrs. Keller moves through the household as the steady hand behind Helen's care, the one who reads about Perkins Institution and pushes for a teacher to be sent. Her tenderness is matched by a quiet resolve: she will not 
- [Captain Keller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/captain_keller.md): Captain Keller is a man of the old South — punctilious, affectionate in his own way, and often baffled by a daughter he cannot discipline or console. His authority sets the family's tone, and his skepticism about new met
- [Mildred Keller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/mildred_keller.md): Mildred arrives as a baby when Helen is still a small, wordless tyrant, and the jealousy between them is raw and physical — Helen once nearly overturns her cradle. As language takes hold, the sisters' relationship soften
- [Michael Anagnos](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/michael_anagnos.md): Mr. Anagnos is the benevolent patron who arranges for Miss Sullivan to come to Alabama and who publishes Helen's early writing with pride. His affection for her is real, which is exactly why the 'Frost King' affair cuts 
- [Alexander Graham Bell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/alexander_graham_bell.md): Bell enters Helen's story as the celebrated inventor of the telephone who also devoted himself to teaching the deaf to speak, and it is to him that her parents turn when their blind and mute daughter seems beyond reach. 
- [John Hitz](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/john_hitz.md): Superintendent of the Volta Bureau, who assisted Helen's education.
- [Sarah Fuller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/sarah_full.md): Teacher who gave Helen her first speech lessons.
- [Merton S. Keith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/merton_keith.md): Helen's mathematics tutor during her preparation for college.
- [Arthur Gilman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/arthur_gilman.md): Principal of the Cambridge School for Young Ladies, where Helen prepared for Radcliffe.
- [John P. Spaulding](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/john_spaulding.md): A friend and benefactor who supported Helen's education.
- [Mrs. Laurence Hutton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/mrs_laurence_hutton.md): Wife of Laurence Hutton, a warm friend and host to Helen.
- [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/oliver_wendell_holmes.md): Poet and physician who met Helen and corresponded with her.
- [Edward Everett Hale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/edward_everett_hale.md): Unitarian minister and author who befriended Helen.
- [Phillips Brooks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/phillips_brooks.md): Episcopal bishop whose sermons deeply influenced Helen's spiritual life.
- [Samuel Gridley Howe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/samuel_gridley_howe.md): Founder of the Perkins Institution, who pioneered education for the blind.
- [Laura Bridgman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/laura_bridgman.md): A deaf-blind woman educated at Perkins, an inspiration for Helen's education.
- [Margaret T. Canby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/margaret_canby.md): Author of 'The Frost Fairies,' which Helen was accused of plagiarizing.
- [Charles Dudley Warner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/charles_dudley_warner.md): Essayist and editor who corresponded with Helen.
- [Mark Twain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/mark_twain.md): Famous author who became a friend and admirer of Helen.
- [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/john_greenleaf_whittier.md): Poet who corresponded with Helen and praised her writing.
- [Joseph Jefferson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/joseph_jefferson.md): Famous actor who performed for Helen and became a friend.
- [Sophia C. Hopkins](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/sophia_hopkins.md): A teacher at Perkins who accompanied Helen on trips.
- [Viney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/viney.md): An African-American servant in the Keller household during Helen's childhood.
- [Martha Washington](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/martha_washington.md): The cook's daughter who was Helen's childhood playmate.
- [Tommy Stringer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/tommy_stringer.md): A blind boy whom Helen and Miss Sullivan tried to help find a teacher.
- [Ragnhild Kaata](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/ragnhild_kaata.md): A deaf-blind girl in Norway who learned to speak, inspiring Helen.
- [James Keller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/james_keller.md): Helen's half-brother from her father's first marriage.
- [Ellen Terry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/ellen_terry.md): Famous actress who met Helen.
- [Henry Irving](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/henry_irving.md): Famous actor who performed for Helen.
- [Grover Cleveland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/grover_cleveland.md): President who met Helen at the White House.
- [William Wade](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/william_wade.md): A friend who helped fund Helen's education.
- [Albert H. Munsell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/albert_munsell.md): A friend who corresponded with Helen.
- [Charles T. Copeland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/charles_copeland.md): Helen's English tutor at Radcliffe.
- [Eugene C. Vining](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/eugene_vining.md): A friend who corresponded with Helen.
- [John D. Wright](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/john_wright.md): A friend who corresponded with Helen.
- [Robert E. Lee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters/robert_e_lee.md): Confederate general mentioned in Helen's childhood stories.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_my_life_se/characters