Character guide

Axel Heyst

major

Also known as Heyst, Mr. Heyst, the elder Heyst, the wandering Heyst, enchanted Heyst, Mr. Blasted Heyst

Heyst is the last man on Samburan, a failed coaling-station where he keeps a blackboard's ghost company and reads his philosopher father's books by moonlight. Raised to despise action, he is courteous, self-contained, and quietly unable to commit to anything — until Lena makes him feel that his embrace might have force. His refusal to engage with the world is exactly what drags the world to his jetty.

Lena

major

Also known as Magdalen, Alma, the girl

Lena has known only drudgery and men's casual cruelty, first in the Zangiacomo band and now as the woman Heyst brought away from Schomberg's hotel. She loves Heyst with a fierce, anxious devotion, yet senses the subtle distance he keeps even in his arms, and resolves to hold him as long as her strength allows. Her waiting in the dark, thinking of him, is the emotional center of the island's uneasy peace.

Schomberg

supporting

Also known as a certain Schomberg, ass Schomberg, Mrs. Schomberg, the real Mrs. Schomberg, VIII Schomberg

Schomberg runs a respectable establishment built on gossip and table d'hôte dinners, but Heyst's quiet theft of the orchestra girl has left him obsessed and demoralized. He terrorizes his wife with poisoned glances, drinks too much, and lets desperate men lodge under his roof because he cannot resist the chance to aim them at his enemy. His petty malice is the fuse that lights the whole catastrophe.

Mr. Jones

supporting

Also known as the gentlemanly Mr. Jones, plain Mr. Jones, Jones

Mr. Jones moves through the world with the incurious stare of a spectre and the manners of a man who has never had to work. He keeps Ricardo close, tolerates a brutish third man only for utility, and treats violence as a matter of hygiene rather than passion. His arrival at Schomberg's hotel gives the hotelkeeper exactly the instrument he wants, and his decision to visit Samburan turns Heyst's refuge into a trap.

Martin Ricardo

supporting

Also known as Mr. Secretary Ricardo, Ricardo, the devoted Martin, the faithful Ricardo

Ricardo is the muscle and the cunning behind Mr. Jones, a man who has beaten a companion half to death and boasts of it with a lip-retracting smile. He studies Heyst's face for drink, fear, or surprise and finds none, which only sharpens his interest. His fixation on Lena, glimpsed through the bungalow's shadows, becomes a volatile force that neither his governor nor Heyst can fully control.

Davidson

supporting

Also known as Captain Davidson, the prudent Davidson, the good Davidson, the sympathetic Davidson

Davidson's route is monotonous and his decks are empty of white company, so Heyst's occasional passage is a godsend he never charges for. He is curious, humane, and quietly loyal, the sort of man who goes ashore in the hottest hour to look for a friend who might need him. His periodic sighting of the Sissie off Samburan is the thread that keeps Heyst tethered to the world — and the one that may yet pull him back.

Wang

supporting

Also known as the practical and automatic Wang, a vanishing Wang, Mr. Wang, the silent Wang

Wang keeps Heyst's bungalow running with meticulous calm, announcing that cups, plates, and forks are all 'plopel' even as he declares his intention to leave. He has quietly pocketed Heyst's revolver and cartridges, spooked less by abstract danger than by the hairy, fanged Pedro, whom he cannot classify as human. His refusal to stay makes the island's isolation suddenly feel fragile, forcing Heyst to reckon with a world arriving uninvited.

Morrison

minor

Also known as the haggard Morrison, Poor Morrison, Captain Morrison, old Morrison

Heyst's former business partner who died after their coal venture failed.

Pedro

minor

Also known as the hairy Pedro, the simian Pedro

Jones's brutish, ape-like henchman who serves as muscle.

Zangiacomo

minor

Also known as Victory, Zangiacomo of Victory, Signor Zangiacomo

The tyrannical leader of the traveling ladies' orchestra where Lena performed.

Mrs. Zangiacomo

minor

Also known as Zangiacomo

Zangiacomo's wife who helps manage the orchestra girls.

Baron Heyst

minor

Also known as the late Baron Heyst, Heyst

Axel Heyst's deceased father, a Swedish philosopher who shaped his son's detachment.

Mr. Tesman

minor

Also known as Mr. Tesman of Tesman Brothers, old Tesman, the Tesmans

A merchant from Tesman Brothers who had dealings with Heyst.

McNab

minor

Also known as old McNab, Mr. McNab

A planter acquaintance of Davidson and Heyst.

Antonio

minor

Also known as Mr. Antonio, the honourable Antonio

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.

Himmel

minor

A minor character briefly referenced.

Wilhelm

minor

A minor character mentioned in passing.

Peter

minor

A minor character with a brief mention.