Character guide

Lucilla

major

Also known as little Lucilla, Poor Lucilla

Lucilla grows up solitary on the downs, admired by fisher folk for dancing that seems one with the waves, and she turns away every young man who cannot keep her pace. When a shipwrecked sailor swears he can dance as well as any man, she tests him on the grass — and he answers by catching her waist and holding her still. Her insistence that dancing is the thing she loves best sets the terms of her marriage and the story's central question of what she will trade for it.

Hulda

major

Also known as Poor Hulda

Hulda stands at the edge of Othmar's choices, whispering cautions he shrugs off as silliness. When the dwarf leads him away with a mule of instruments, her fear proves sharper than his confidence, and she is left behind to wait. Her dread gives the reader a measure of what Othmar is risking, and her presence keeps the story's enchantment tethered to ordinary human worry.

Dumb Othmar

supporting

Also known as Othmar, Poor Othmar

Othmar dismisses Hulda's warning and leads the dwarf down the road, eager for one more tune. On the hilltop the instruments rise and become singing figures — violin girls, trumpet men, a fat drum — and he sits entranced, trembling yet unable to leave. His willingness to trade safety for wonder draws him into the dwarf's game of choosing whom he loves best, and his fate turns on that bargain.

Vain Kesta

supporting

Also known as Kesta, rushed Kesta

Kesta marches through town complaining loudly of the suitors who pursue her, and when the General doubts her looks she insists he ask the men in the street. Undeterred, she presses on to the Duke's garden and offers him the same story, angling for a coronet. Her vanity is both her engine and her blind spot, and the Duke's warning that he will be angry if she has lied plants the trap her chapter springs.

The Ploughman

supporting

Also known as the ploughman

Alone in his field, the ploughman is stopped by a voice from the earth and finds a creature like a black lizard that swells into a foot-high woman with an india-rubber face. She detests women, wants no trouble, and demands only the best of everything that enters his house. His plain decency and her strange terms set up a household bargain that tests what hospitality really costs.

The Potter's Wife

minor

Also known as the potter ’s wife

A domestic character, likely involved in a subplot.

The Wife

minor

A generic but sustained character, possibly the ploughman's wife.

The Old Gentleman

minor

An elderly character who appears in multiple scenes.

Nanina

supporting

Nanina is set to watch a flock beside an old palace, but each night the beautiful shepherd's music pulls her feet into motion and another sheep vanishes. With only one lamb left she weeps beneath a beech tree, ties up its torn boughs, and is answered by a whispering voice that offers a terrible cure: bury her feet in the roots and bear the pain of being held. Her struggle between the compulsion to dance and the will to keep what she is responsible for drives the story's middle.

The Gipsy

supporting

Also known as the gipsy

A wandering gipsy whose mysterious cup carries old magic, offering help or trouble to those who cross her path.

The General

minor

Also known as the General of the army

A military figure, possibly a minor authority in the story.

Adam

minor

Also known as poor Adam

A named character with limited but notable appearances.

The Old Schoolmaster

minor

An educator who appears briefly in the narrative.

The Windfairies

major

Also known as Windfairies, Dear windfairies

The windfairies sweep the earth, turn the miller's wheel, and gather by night to dance as lightly as down. They are drawn to Lucilla's loneliness but wary of her kind, warning that no mortal can keep a secret and that broken faith brings heavy feet and a curse on what she loves best. Their bargain sets the story's central wager: a child's word against fairy law, with help promised only if she stays true.