# Major Melville — Waverley character guide

> Major Melville in Waverley by Walter Scott.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Melville, Major William Melville, Major Melville of Cairnvreckan

**First appearance:** 0036-part-ii-ii-an-examination

## Snapshot

A Hanoverian magistrate who dreads his duty more than he dreads rebellion, he must decide whether the young prisoner before him is a traitor or merely a fool.

## Who they are

Melville is the local magistrate who arrests Waverley on a warrant from the Supreme Criminal Court, then examines him with a compassion that never quite softens into mercy. He is a strict disciplinarian and distrustful man of the world, caught between his instinct that Waverley is honorable and his conviction that the law must run its course. His tense, courteous interrogation establishes the political stakes of the novel and forces Waverley to confront how his own careless conduct may condemn him.

## Relationships

### [Edward Waverley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/characters/edward_waverley)

_rivalry_

Major Melville, a Hanoverian magistrate, arrests and interrogates Edward as a suspected Jacobite traitor.

### [Edward Waverley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/characters/edward_waverley)

_rivalry_

Major Melville, a Hanoverian magistrate, arrests and interrogates Edward as a suspected Jacobite traitor.

### [Edward Waverley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/characters/edward_waverley)

_rivalry_

Major Melville, a Hanoverian magistrate, arrests and interrogates Edward as a suspected Jacobite traitor.

## In the story

### [An Examination](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/chapters/part-ii-ii-an-examination)

The magistrate conducting the examination; he treats Waverley with civility but firmness, following legal procedures.

### [A Conference and the Consequence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/chapters/part-ii-iii-a-conference-and-the-consequence)

Presides over the examination of Waverley and debates his guilt with Mr. Morton; decides to send Waverley to Stirling Castle under Gilfillan's guard.

### [A Confidant](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/chapters/part-ii-iv-a-confidant)

Described as cold and calculating; Waverley detests him.

### [Things Mend a Little](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/chapters/part-ii-v-things-mend-a-little)

Invites Waverley to dinner after hearing a favorable report; shows hospitality and good humor upon receiving news that the Highlanders may have withdrawn.

### [A Volunteer Sixty Years Since](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/chapters/part-ii-vi-a-volunteer-sixty-years-since)

Arranges Waverley's transfer to Gilfillan, offers military advice, and bids farewell.

### [What’s to Be Done Next?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/chapters/part-ii-xxxiii-what-s-to-be-done-next)

Presided over Donald Bean Lean's confession, described as a correct, friendly sort of person.

### [XLII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/chapters/part-ii-xlii)

Arrives as a guest at the restored Tully-Veolan.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/characters/major_melville
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/waverley_se/characters