Character guide

Henry David Thoreau

major

Also known as Thoreau, Henry, Mr. Thoreau, H. D. T.

Author and narrator; reflects on nature, society, and individual conscience.

Sir Walter Raleigh

supporting

Also known as Raleigh, Sir Walter, Ralegh, Sir Walter Ralegh

Elizabethan explorer and writer; subject of a biographical essay.

Thomas Carlyle

supporting

Also known as Carlyle, Mr. Carlyle

Scottish philosopher and historian; Thoreau critiques his works.

Captain John Brown

supporting

Also known as John Brown, Captain Brown, Brown, crazy John Brown

Abolitionist leader; Thoreau defends his actions at Harpers Ferry.

Joe Aitteon

supporting

Also known as Joe, Aitteon

Native American guide on Thoreau's Maine woods expedition.

The Landlord

supporting

Also known as the landlord, The landlord

Personification of hospitality and innkeeping in an allegorical essay.

Aulus Persius Flaccus

minor

Also known as Persius

Roman satirist; Thoreau translates and discusses his poetry.

Homer

minor

Also known as Homer and Confucius

Ancient Greek poet; referenced as a heroic bard.

Ossian

minor

Legendary Gaelic bard; subject of a comparative essay.

Chaucer

minor

English poet; Thoreau examines his earthy realism.

Wendell Phillips

minor

Also known as Wendell Phillips, Mr. Phillips

Abolitionist orator; Thoreau praises his eloquence.

Mr. Etzler

minor

Also known as Etzler

Author of a utopian technological scheme; Thoreau critiques him.

Oliver Cromwell

minor

Also known as Cromwell

English military and political leader; cited as a heroic figure.

Shakespeare

minor

English playwright; referenced as a literary touchstone.

Goethe

minor

German poet and philosopher; admired by Thoreau.

Sir Philip Sidney

minor

Also known as Philip, Sidney

Elizabethan poet and courtier; example of chivalric virtue.

General Washington

minor

Also known as Washington

First U.S. president; invoked as a symbol of integrity.

Mr. Rogers

minor

Also known as Nathaniel P. Rogers

Abolitionist editor; Thoreau references his reform efforts.

Schiller

minor

German poet and playwright; quoted on freedom and art.

Tahmunt Swasen

minor

Also known as Tahmunt

Native American encountered during Thoreau's Maine travels.

Sabattis Solomon

minor

Also known as Sabattis, Solomon

Native American guide in the Maine woods.

Diana

minor

Roman goddess of the hunt; mentioned in poetic contexts.

Neptune

minor

Also known as Governor Neptune

Roman god of the sea; appears in classical allusions.

Mr. Loring

minor

Local official or acquaintance mentioned in passing.

Thomson

minor

Poet referenced in discussions of nature writing.

Virgil

minor

Roman poet; cited as a model of pastoral literature.

Julius Caesar

minor

Also known as Caesar

Roman general and dictator; historical example of ambition.

Humboldt

minor

German naturalist and explorer; admired for scientific curiosity.

Plato

minor

Greek philosopher; referenced in discussions of ideal forms.

Wordsworth

minor

English Romantic poet; quoted on nature and imagination.

John Winthrop

minor

Also known as Winthrop, John

First governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony; historical reference.

Samuel Champlain

minor

Also known as Champlain

French explorer of Canada; mentioned in travel narrative.

Alexander Milne

minor

Also known as Alexander

Scottish poet or acquaintance; minor reference.

Coleridge

minor

English poet and critic; cited on imagination.

Christ

minor

Central figure of Christianity; invoked as moral exemplar.

Queen Elizabeth

minor

Also known as Elizabeth

Tudor monarch; patron of Raleigh and exploration.

Michaux

minor

Also known as The younger Michaux

French botanist who studied North American flora.

Milton

minor

English poet; author of Paradise Lost; cited on liberty.

Sir John Franklin

minor

Also known as Franklin, John

Arctic explorer; his disappearance noted in passing.

Emerson

minor

Also known as Mr. George B. Emerson

Transcendentalist philosopher and Thoreau's mentor.

Richter

minor

German writer; quoted on humor and philosophy.

Sir Henry Wotton

minor

Also known as Wotton

English diplomat and poet; cited on travel and observation.

Anthony Burns

minor

Also known as Burns

Fugitive slave whose capture sparked protests in Boston.

Paley

minor

English theologian; referenced on natural religion.

Kalm

minor

Swedish-Finnish botanist; traveled in North America.

Marlowe

minor

Elizabethan playwright; referenced in literary context.

Horace Greeley

minor

Also known as Horace

Newspaper editor; Thoreau corresponded with him.

Linnaeus

minor

Swedish botanist; father of modern taxonomy.

John Smith

minor

Also known as Smith

English explorer of Virginia; early colonial figure.

Dante

minor

Italian poet; author of The Divine Comedy.

King George III

minor

Also known as King George, George

British monarch during American Revolution; symbol of tyranny.

Guyot

minor

Swiss-American geographer; cited on physical geography.

Orpheus

minor

Mythical Greek musician; symbol of poetic power.

Edward Irving

minor

Also known as Irving

Scottish clergyman; mentioned in Carlyle essay.

Muhammad

minor

Prophet of Islam; cited as a heroic reformer.

Luther

minor

German Protestant reformer; example of moral courage.

Ben Jonson

minor

Also known as Jonson

Elizabethan playwright and poet; contemporary of Shakespeare.

Epaminondas

minor

Theban general; example of ancient heroism.

Pliny

minor

Roman naturalist; author of Natural History.

Josselyn

minor

Also known as Old Josselyn

Early New England naturalist and writer.

Charlevoix

minor

French Jesuit historian of New France.

Dr. Kane

minor

Also known as Kane

American Arctic explorer; mentioned in passing.

Pizarro

minor

Also known as The Pizarro

Spanish conquistador of Peru; example of greed.

Giordano Bruno

minor

Also known as Bruno

Italian philosopher burned for heresy; symbol of free thought.

F. B. Sanborn

minor

Abolitionist and Thoreau's friend; helped John Brown.

Jacques Cartier

minor

Also known as Cartier

French explorer of the St. Lawrence River.

The St. Francis Indian

minor

Also known as the Indian, clear Indian, Indian

Native American encountered on a steamer journey.

The Old Man

minor

Also known as the old man

Elderly figure encountered in travel or allegory.

A Priest in the Streets

minor

Religious figure observed during a walk in Quebec.

The Judge

minor

Legal authority figure in a moral anecdote.

The Hero

minor

Generic heroic figure in philosophical passages.

The Soul

minor

Also known as Soul

Personified inner self in transcendental reflections.

The State

minor

Personified government in civil disobedience essay.

The English

minor

Also known as English, English Phillips

National group referenced in travel observations.

The French

minor

Also known as French, reputed French

National group encountered in Canadian travels.

The Canadians

minor

Also known as Canadians, French Canadians

Local inhabitants observed during Quebec journey.

The Yankees

minor

Also known as Yankees

New Englanders contrasted with other groups.

The Highlanders

minor

Scottish soldiers or settlers in Canada.

The Indians

minor

Also known as Indians, the Indians Sebug

Native American groups referenced in travel and history.