Hope Leslie Character Analysis

Hope Leslie (Alice)

Alice is Charles Leslie and Alice Fletcher’s older daughter and the protagonist of the novel. Born in England, she is baptized as Hope upon joining the Fletcher household in America after the separate deaths… read analysis of Hope Leslie (Alice)

Magawisca

Magawisca is a young Pequot girl whom Governor Winthrop sends to Springfield to work as a servant for the Fletcher household. She is 15 years old at the start of the story, graceful, intelligent, and… read analysis of Magawisca

Everell Fletcher

Everell is the son of William Fletcher and Martha Fletcher. He is 14 years old at the start of the novel. He and Magawisca became devoted friends as soon as Magawisca arrives at the… read analysis of Everell Fletcher

Mr. William Fletcher

William is a gentleman’s son in Suffolk, England. He stands to inherit his uncle Sir William Fletcher’s wealth. He also falls in love with his cousin, Sir William’s daughter, Alice Fletcher. However, he… read analysis of Mr. William Fletcher

Faith Leslie (Mary)

Mary is Charles Leslie and Alice Fletcher’s younger daughter. Born in England, she is baptized as Faith upon joining the Fletcher household in America. She is shy and used to being indulged by her… read analysis of Faith Leslie (Mary)

Sir Philip Gardiner

Sir Philip Gardiner, the novel’s antagonist, arrives in Boston from England at the same time that Everell does, accompanied by Roslin. He dresses like a sober Puritan, albeit a refined and dapper one. However… read analysis of Sir Philip Gardiner

Esther Downing

Esther is Governor Winthrop’s 19-year-old niece who is living with the Winthrops in Boston. She has “a reserved, tender, and timid cast of character” and is devoutly and sincerely Puritan. She is beautiful in… read analysis of Esther Downing

Governor John Winthrop

Governor Winthrop is the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is a wealthy, well-connected man with a suitably elegant home in Boston. Winthrop is known as a fatherly, even-tempered man, forbidding in looks but… read analysis of Governor John Winthrop

Mononotto

Mononotto is, with Sassacus, one of the chiefs of the Pequot. His wife is Monoca, and his children include Samoset, Magawisca, and Oneco. Though he has typically counseled peace and cooperation… read analysis of Mononotto

Oneco

Oneco is Magawisca’s sister, son of Mononotto and Monoca. He is brought in captivity to Boston and later sent to Springfield by Governor Winthrop to live in the Fletcher household as a servant… read analysis of Oneco

Monoca

Monoca is the mother of Magawisca and Oneco and wife of Mononotto. After being taken in captivity to Boston, she is noted for her dignity and kindness. After she dies of heartbreak following the… read analysis of Monoca

Sir William Fletcher

William Fletcher’s uncle, an eminent lawyer whose wealth William stands to inherit. He is determined that William marry his only daughter, Alice Fletcher, so that his family name will carry on. However, he… read analysis of Sir William Fletcher

Alice Fletcher

Alice is Sir William Fletcher’s only daughter. She falls in love with her cousin and her father’s heir, William Fletcher. She tries to elope with William despite her father’s disapproval of William’s Puritan… read analysis of Alice Fletcher

Jennet

Jennet is one of the Fletchers’ household servants. She is sour-tempered and rude. Hope describes her as an “untired and tiresome railer,” or complainer. Jennet gets Nelema in trouble for using “witchcraft” (tribal remedies) to… read analysis of Jennet

Master Cradock

Cradock is Hope Leslie’s tutor. He travels to America with her and lives with the Fletcher household. He is rather bumbling and awkward but lovable and fiercely devoted to Hope. During a nature expedition… read analysis of Master Cradock

Mrs. Grafton

Mrs. Grafton is Charles Leslie’s sister. She travels with Alice Fletcher, Hope, and Faith to New England after her brother’s death. She dotes on her nieces. An Anglican, she endures criticisms from… read analysis of Mrs. Grafton

Mrs. Martha Fletcher

Martha is William Fletcher’s wife. In England, she was an orphan in the custody of John Winthrop. Winthrop encouraged a grief-stricken William Fletcher to marry her, and she moved with him to Boston… read analysis of Mrs. Martha Fletcher

Roslin / Rosa

Roslin is a young person of about 15 years old, who accompanies Sir Philip Gardiner and is supposedly his page. At first, everyone thinks Roslin is a remarkably handsome boy, but she is actually a… read analysis of Roslin / Rosa

Madam Winthrop

Madam Winthrop is the wife of Governor Winthrop. She is a model Puritan wife, obedient to her husband, and she tries to teach her niece, Esther, and her ward, Hope, to develop… read analysis of Madam Winthrop

Nelema

Nelema is an elderly American Indian woman who lives in a forest hut near the Fletcher homestead. She sometimes brings berries and herbs to trade with Mrs. Fletcher. All of Nelema’s children and grandchildren… read analysis of Nelema

Mr. Pynchon

Mr. Pynchon is one of the town magistrates of the frontier village of Springfield, Massachusetts. He is strict in his application of the law—such as when he sentences Nelema to death for supposed witchcraft—yet has… read analysis of Mr. Pynchon

Antonio Batista

Antonio is a devoutly Catholic Italian sailor who rows Hope to safety after she is stranded on an island following her secret rendezvous with Magawisca and Faith. Antonio believes that Hope is an apparition… read analysis of Antonio Batista

Barnaby Tuttle

Barnaby Tuttle is the meek, mild-mannered prison guard in Boston. He naps on the job and is easily taken advantage of, but he is a genuinely good, compassionate man. After he is hoodwinked into letting… read analysis of Barnaby Tuttle

Minor Characters

John Eliot

John Eliot, a historical figure, was a Puritan missionary renowned as the so-called “apostle to the Indians.” In the novel, he appears at Magawisca’s trial and prays before the proceedings begin, narrating the many kindnesses that American Indians have done for white people.

John Digby

Digby is the Fletcher family’s faithful, good-natured household servant. He is a veteran of the Pequot War and doesn’t trust American Indians, though he eventually comes around to respecting Magawisca. Digby is especially devoted to Hope and Everell, will do anything to help them, and predicts their eventual marriage.

Sassacus

Sassacus is a Pequot chief who is scalped by his enemies at the beginning of the novel.

Charles Leslie

Charles Leslie is Alice Fletcher’s husband and Hope and Faith’s father. Sir William forces Alice to marry Leslie after she attempts to elope with William Fletcher. Leslie dies while his daughters are still young.

Samoset

Samoset is one of Mononotto’s and Monoca’s children, an older brother of Magawisca and Oneco. He is killed by the English for refusing to betray his people.

Stretton

Stretton is Martha Fletcher’s brother, a moderate Anglican. It’s Mrs. Fletcher’s last wish that Everell be sent to live with Stretton in England so that he can be better educated.

Miantunnomoh

Miantunnomoh is a Narragansett chief, friendly to the English, who comes to Governor Winthrop’s house for dinner and is offended when he is seated at a separate table.

William Hubbard

William Hubbard was a celebrated historian of early New England. He doesn’t appear in the story, but Governor Winthrop names him as a suitably devout potential husband for Hope Leslie.

Samuel Gorton

Gorton led a heterodox sect and was put on trial for blasphemy in Boston in 1643.

Thomas Morton

Thomas Morton was infamous for founding a short-lived colony outside Boston, known for its so-called pagan revelries. Morton was accordingly exiled from the town and, when allowed back in, soon jailed for insanity. He attacks Sir Philip when the latter comes to visit Magawisca in jail.

Chaddock

Chaddock is an unscrupulous pirate and friend of Sir Philip Gardiner’s whom Sir Philip enlists to kidnap Hope Leslie. He and his crew are killed when Rosa blows up his ship.

Hope Leslie

Catharine Sedgwick

Hope Leslie Characters