This Other Eden Character Analysis

Ethan Honey

Ethan is the oldest child of Eha and the grandson of Esther. Like most Apple Island residents, he is mixed-race, but unlike most of his family members, he is pale enough to pass as… read analysis of Ethan Honey

Esther Honey

Esther Honey is the great-granddaughter of Benjamin and Patience, and the oldest currently-living member of the Honey family during the time when the novel is set (in the 1910s). She is the mother of… read analysis of Esther Honey

Matthew Diamond

Matthew Diamond is a white man who spends summers on the mainland across from Apple Island. Although he admits in a letter that he can’t get over his natural dislike of Black people, he claims… read analysis of Matthew Diamond

Bridget

Bridget is the Irish servant of Thomas Hale. She is about the same age as Ethan and takes an immediate interest in him when he comes to stay with Mr. Hale. Bridget is particularly… read analysis of Bridget

Patience Honey

Patience is an Irish woman who marries Benjamin Honey and becomes one of the first settlers on Apple Island. About a decade after the first settlers come to Apple Island, a great flood hits it… read analysis of Patience Honey

Benjamin Honey

Benjamin Honey is a formerly enslaved Black man who, along with his wife, Patience, is the first settler on Apple Island off the coast of Maine. He works hard for many years to get… read analysis of Benjamin Honey

Eha Honey

Eha is the son of Esther and her white father. Because Esther eventually kills her father (and Eha’s father as well), Zachary Hand becomes like a father to Eha instead. In one of Eha’s most… read analysis of Eha Honey

Zachary Hand

Zachary Hand to God Proverb is the oldest person on Apple Island. He lives on the extreme edge of the island and mostly spends time carving Biblical stories onto his hollow tree. He acts… read analysis of Zachary Hand

The Sheriff and Deputy

The sheriff and the deputy are some of the white men who come at the end of the novel to forcibly remove the Apple Islanders from their home. They begin to carry off Rabbit against… read analysis of The Sheriff and Deputy

Theophilus Lark

Theophilus is Candace’s partner; the two are rumored to be half-siblings or even biological siblings. Their children are Rabbit, Millie, Camper, and Duke. Theophilus defies traditional gender expectations by gathering berries… read analysis of Theophilus Lark

Candace Lark

Candace Lark is Theophilus’s partner. The two are possibly half-siblings or even biological siblings. Their children are Rabbit, Millie, Camper, and Duke. Like Theophilus, Candace defies traditional gender expectations by fishing… read analysis of Candace Lark

Thomas Hale

Thomas Hale is a friend of Matthew Diamond’s and Bridget’s employer. He is elderly and mostly keeps to himself, but he agrees to Matthew Diamond’s request for Ethan to come stay with him… read analysis of Thomas Hale

Iris McDermott

Iris McDermott lives with her sister, Violet, and their adopted children, Norma Sockalexis, Emily, and Scotty. They form one of the main families on Apple Island. Iris has darker skin. The… read analysis of Iris McDermott

Violet McDermott

Violet McDermott and her sister Iris live together and, along with their adopted children—Norma Sockalexis, Emily, and Scotty—form one of the main families on Apple Island. Violet is pale, while Iris… read analysis of Violet McDermott

The Governor

The governor of Maine (who isn’t named) personally comes to visit Apple Island. At first, he seems to be interested in improving the island, following Matthew Diamond’s suggestions. Ultimately, however, the government evicts all… read analysis of The Governor

Bernard Richardson

Bernard is a white photographer who takes photo portraits of several Apple Islanders. Although he sees his portraits as serious and artistic, he is dismayed to see stores selling them with dirty jokes as captions… read analysis of Bernard Richardson

Minor Characters

Rabbit

Rabbit is the daughter of Theophilus and Candace. She has a reputation for being unusual, eating things like dirt and chalk. When mainlanders come to evict the Apple Islanders, the sheriff and deputy inadvertently kill Rabbit, causing sorrow for the islanders and symbolizing the brutality of racism and eugenics.

Tabitha Honey

Tabitha is the daughter of Eha, the granddaughter of Esther, and the middle sibling between her older brother Ethan and her younger sister Charlotte. Unlike Ethan, she has dark skin, and seeing pictures of Tabitha and Charlotte causes Bridget to realize that Ethan isn’t white.

Charlotte Honey

Charlotte is the daughter of Eha, the granddaughter of Esther, and the younger sister of Ethan and Tabitha. She spends much of her time with Tabitha, picking berries and flowers or digging for clams.

Timothy Whitcombe

Timothy Whitcombe is the white mainlander who hands out eviction notices to everyone on Apple Island. He hates the job, complaining about it later to his wife, and his own “suffering” humorously contrasts with the significantly greater suffering that he causes to the Apple Islanders by enabling their eviction.

Cheryl Sockalexis

Cheryl is the mother of Norma Sockalexis, Emily, and Scotty. She is American Indian and unmarried, and she comes to Iris and Violet seeking help for her and her children. Shortly after arriving, Cheryl disappears, and the children become Iris and Violet’s.

Norma Sockalexis, Emily, and Scotty

Norma, Emily, and Scotty are Cheryl’s children. Cheryl leaves them with Iris and Violet, who are unmarried and who take the children in as their own.

Norma Clearland

Norma Clearland is a journalist who writes a condescending article about Apple Island that only praises the school that the white man Matthew Diamond founded. This article draws attention to the Apple Islanders and sets in motion the process of their eventual eviction.

Millie, Camper, and Duke Lark

Millie, Camper, and Duke are the children of Theophilus and Candace Lark and the siblings of Rabbit. Millie sometimes plays with Tabitha and Charlotte.

This Other Eden

Paul Harding

This Other Eden Characters