Mourning Becomes Electra Character Analysis

Lavinia “Vinnie” Mannon

Lavinia Mannon—often called “Vinnie” by her friends and family—is Ezra and Christine Mannon’s eldest child and Orin Mannon’s older sister. When the trilogy begins, Lavinia is depicted as unattractive and hostile to sexual… read analysis of Lavinia “Vinnie” Mannon

Orin Mannon

Orin Mannon is the son of Ezra and Christine Mannon. He is also Lavinia’s younger brother and the object of Hazel Niles’s affection. As a young boy, Orin and his mother had… read analysis of Orin Mannon

Christine Mannon

Christine Mannon is Ezra Mannon’s wife, Lavinia and Orin’s mother, and Adam Brant’s lover. Christine is an object of desire for nearly every male character in Mourning Becomes Electra, to the… read analysis of Christine Mannon

Ezra Mannon

Ezra Mannon is the patriarch of the wealthy, prominent Mannon family: he is Christine’s husband, David’s brother, Lavinia and Orin’s father, and Adam Brant’s estranged uncle. Initially a shipping magnate, Ezra’s… read analysis of Ezra Mannon

Adam Brant

First introduced as a potential suitor for Lavinia, ship captain Adam Brant is later revealed to be Christine’s lover—and to be Ezra Mannon’s estranged nephew, born to Ezra’s brother David after his… read analysis of Adam Brant

Peter Niles

Peter Niles is Hazel Niles’s brother and Lavinia Mannon’s love interest (and eventual fiancé). Like Orin and Ezra, Peter served in the Union Army, though an injury forced Peter to return relatively… read analysis of Peter Niles

Hazel Niles

Hazel Niles is Peter Niles’s sister and Orin Mannon’s love interest. Due to her friendly demeanor and her youthful naivete, Hazel is often held up by both Orin and Christine as a model… read analysis of Hazel Niles

Seth Beckwith

Seth Beckwith is the Mannon family’s gardener who participates in each of the three plays’ chorus of villagers. Seth distrusts Christine and is loyal to Lavinia, helping the young woman piece together the story… read analysis of Seth Beckwith

David Mannon

David Mannon was Ezra’s brother and Lavinia and Orin’s uncle. He was also Adam Brant’s father, having conceived his son during a secret affair with the family’s Canadian nurse Marie Brantôme… read analysis of David Mannon

Marie Brantôme

Marie Brantôme was David Mannon’s lover and Adam Brant’s mother. A Canadian nurse, Marie was working in the Mannon household when she began a secret affair with David. According to her son, Marie’s… read analysis of Marie Brantôme

Amos Ames

Amos Ames is a carpenter in the New England town where the Mannons reside. Alongside his wife Louisa, Amos makes up “a chorus representing the town, come to look and listen and spy on… read analysis of Amos Ames

Louisa Ames

Louisa Ames is Amos Ames’s wife and one of the villagers who forms a chorus of gossips in Homecoming, the first play of the trilogy. Alongside her cousin Minnie, Louisa expresses admiration for… read analysis of Louisa Ames

Josiah Borden

Josiah Borden is the manager of the Mannon family’s shipping company. He is Emma’s husband and a member of the chorus of townsfolk that discusses Ezra’s death in the second play of the… read analysis of Josiah Borden

Emma Borden

Emma Borden is Josiah Borden’s wife and one of the chorus of villagers in The Hunted. Though the trilogy treats Emma with a slightly mocking touch, poking fun at her tendency to gossip… read analysis of Emma Borden

Doctor Joseph Blake

Joseph Blake is the kindly, elderly local doctor who regularly tends to the Mannon family. He is also a member of the chorus of townsfolk in the trilogy’s second play, The Hunted. Though Blake… read analysis of Doctor Joseph Blake

Joe Small

Joe Small is a local hardware store clerk in the Mannons’ New England town. He is also a member of the chorus of villagers in the trilogy’s third play, The Haunted. On a dare… read analysis of Joe Small

Abner Silva

Abner Silva is a Portuguese ship captain and a member of the chorus of villagers in The Haunted. Silva is one of the men who dares Joe Small to go inside the Mannon house… read analysis of Abner Silva

Avahanni

Avahanni is the islander whom Lavinia has a tryst with during the cruise she takes with Orin. Lavinia tells a series of contrasting stories about Avahanni. First, she insists that she merely admired him… read analysis of Avahanni

Minor Characters

The Chantyman

The chantyman is a drunken sailor hoping to be employed on Adam Brant’s ship. The chantyman’s songs and morbid temperament—he laments that everyone is dying, from Abraham Lincoln to Ezra Mannon—add to Brant’s sense of foreboding.