Heartbreak House · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw.
Captain Shotover
major
Also known as The Captain, Captain, old Captain Shotover, Captain Shotover Looking, Captain Shotover Stopping, Captain Shotover Shouting, Captain Shotover Since Easter, Captain Shotover Guinness, Captain Shotover Dunn, The Captain Dunn
A retired sea captain and inventor, the eccentric patriarch of Heartbreak House.
Ellie Dunn
major
Also known as Ellie, Miss Ellie, Ellie Dunn, Ellie Dropping, Ellie Almost, Ellie Protesting, Ellie Groaning, Ellie Hesione, Ellie Nobody, Ellie Rising, Ellie Flushing, Ellie Musically, Ellie Quite, Ellie Certainly, Ellie Shakespeare, Ellie Othello
A young, idealistic woman engaged to Mangan but drawn to Captain Shotover.
Hesione Hushabye
major
Also known as Mrs. Hushabye, Hesione, Mrs. Hushabye To Mangan, Mrs. Hushabye Hector, Mrs. Hushabye Lady Utterword, Mrs. Hushabye One, Mrs. Hushabye Laughing, Mrs. Hushabye Papa, Mrs. Hushabye Hospitably shaking hands, Mrs. Hushabye Who, Mrs. Hushabye Rising, Mrs. Hushabye Impatiently, Mrs. Hushabye Anybody, Mrs. Hushabye Ellie, Mrs. Hushabye Poor Ellie, Mrs. Hushabye Stop, Mrs. Hushabye Alfred, Mrs. Hushabye Slain, Mrs. Hushabye Desdemona, Mrs. Hushabye Ah
Captain Shotover's charismatic and manipulative daughter, hostess of Heartbreak House.
Hector Hushabye
major
Also known as Hector, Hector Certainly, Hector The, Hector Bitterly, Hector Hushabye, Hector Randall Mrs. Hushabye, Hector Rising, Hector Alfred, Hector Mother, Mr. Hushabye
Hesione's handsome, romantic husband who lives in a world of fantasy.
Lady Utterword
major
Also known as Lady Utterword, Lady Utterword Hesione, Lady Utterword Randall, Lady Utterword Randall the Rotter, Lady Utterword Papa, Lady Utterword Nurse, Lady Utterword Providence, Ariadne, Meanwhile Ariadne
Captain Shotover's other daughter, a worldly and practical woman returned from abroad.
Boss Mangan
major
Also known as Mangan, Mangan Rising, Mangan Shortly, Mangan Shaking, Mangan No, Mangan Snifflng, Boss Mangan, the Mangans, ten Boss Mangans, Boss
A wealthy industrialist and Ellie's fiancé, representing capitalist power.
Mazzini Dunn
supporting
Also known as Mazzini Dunn, Mazzini, Mr. Dunn, Mazzini Smiling, Mazzini Dazed, Dunn, Mr. Mazzini Dunn, Mazzini Resigned, Mazzini Rising, Mazzini Ellie
Ellie's gentle, idealistic father, a man of principles but little practical success.
Randall Utterword
supporting
Also known as Randall, Randall Only nerves, Randall Angrily, Randall Rising, Randall Hastings, Hastings, Randall Dynamite, Randall Ariad, Mr. Randall, Sir Hastings Utterword, Hastings Utterword
Lady Utterword's brother-in-law, a dandyish and ineffectual admirer of hers.
Nurse Guinness
supporting
Also known as Nurse Guinness, Nurse, Guinness, Nurse Guinness Grimly
The household's sharp-tongued and practical nurse and housekeeper.
Alfred
supporting
Also known as Alfred, poor Alfred, Hector Alfred, Little Alf, Alf
A former employee of Mangan who becomes a burglar and reveals hidden connections.
The Burglar
minor
Also known as The Burglar, the Burglar, Billy Dunn, Mr. William Dunn
A comic burglar who breaks into Heartbreak House, later revealed as an old acquaintance.
Addy
minor
Also known as Miss Addy, Addy
A friend of the family, mentioned in passing as a social acquaintance.
Miss Hessy
minor
Also known as Miss Hessy
A minor character referenced in the household's social circle.
Marcus Darnley
minor
Also known as Marcus Darnley, Mr. Marcus Darnley, Marcus
A name used by Hector in his romantic fantasies and aliases.
Frederick Keeling
minor
Also known as Frederick Keeling
A historical figure briefly alluded to in the play's philosophical discussions.
