Caleb Williams

Ferdinando is a country squire who owns the land where Caleb’s parents lived; when they died, Ferdinando took Caleb in as a ward and employee. He is small and delicate in stature and initially appears kind, attentive, and anxious. However, he soon reveals his true self—one riddled with guilt over a murder that he committed and has kept a secret for years. When Caleb discovers this secret, Ferdinando begins to harass the younger man, continuing to do so for the entirety of the novel. This vengeful pursuit weighs on Ferdinando, as he begins to look like a madman and have fits of insanity. When Caleb sees him at the end of the novel, he has changed completely, and his appearance is that of a defeated, dying man.

Barnabas is the aristocratic neighbor of Ferdinando. He was spoiled growing up and is very muscular and bulky. He is a boisterous man whom everyone in town knows and regards as one of the most eligible bachelors (74-75). He is the cousin of Emily; his mother and him took her in when she had nowhere else to go. The appearance of Ferdinando in his town threatens him, and a rivalry begins to brew between the two men. Barnabas has a lot of pride and does not grow much as a character, as he stays the same manipulative man from beginning to end (in fact, his jealousy only makes these qualities worse). He tries to have his cousin sexually assaulted, and when the town turns against him, he is filled with rage. He dies in an altercation with Ferdinando, the man stabbing him with a knife.

Emily is the cousin of Barnabas, and his parents take her in when her parents die. As she gets older Barnabas develops a soft spot for her, but this becomes a streak of jealousy that eventually leads to her downfall. She admires Ferdinando after he saves her from a fire, which angers Barnabas and sets in motion his plan to marry her to Grimes. Emily is the victim of 18th-century justice system and in particular the subordinate position of women: Her hardships come from the power that Barnabas has over her as an unmarried woman with no independent wealth. Emily dies in jail, and her death exacerbates the conflict between Ferdinando and Barnabas.

Mr. Collins is the reason that Caleb first came to work for Ferdinando: Mr. Collins felt that Caleb was a hardworking man and helped him secure his position. Mr. Collins is important primarily as a plot device, as it is he who relates Ferdinando’s backstory to Caleb. After Volume 1, Mr. Collins does not appear until Volume 3, when he refuses to help Caleb and eventually dies from sickness.

Mr. Forester is Ferdinando’s older half-brother who comes to stay at his property, and while he does not get along with his sibling, he takes a particular liking to Caleb and his curiosity. After Ferdinando demands that Caleb stay away from Mr. Forester, Mr. Forester leaves, confused by his new friend’s sudden coldness. He reappears several times throughout the story and becomes Caleb’s confidant when he is in trouble with Ferdinando. Mr. Forester acts as a mediator between the two, begging Caleb to come back to town and plead his innocence. Despite this, Mr. Forester ends up believing Ferdinando, and Caleb does not find the help he needs from him.

Mr. Hawkins and his son were tenants of Barnabas; however, when Mr. Hawkins turned down Barnabas’s offer to hire his son, his landlord ordered him to leave. Mr. Hawkins’s story is another example of the injustice the lower classes faced during the 18th century. Mr. Hawkins refuses to leave, believing that his lease will protect him even though he is not rich. However, Barnabas makes life so hard for them that Mr. Hawkins's son, Leonard, is eventually maneuvered into violating the Black Act, at which point the family chooses to cut their losses and leave. After Barnabas is later found murdered, Mr. Hawkins is wrongfully blamed for the crime and executed.

Grimes comes from a family of peasants: He is a tenant of the Tyrrels’ and the tool that Barnabas uses to enact his revenge on Emily. He tells Emily that she must marry Grimes, which causes her to run away. Grimes then tries to sexually assault Emily (at Barnabas’s request), but Ferdinando happens to be nearby and saves her.

Mr. Raymond, called “Captain Raymond” by his gang of thieves, rescues Caleb after a member of his own gang, Gines, leaves him injured on the road. Mr. Raymond takes Caleb in and protects him from the other thieves; he is not just the leader but the voice of reason for the group. His dialogue serves as Godwin’s vessel to question the law. Mr. Raymond follows his own moral code: he believes in loyalty, condemns murder, avoids stealing from the poor, etc. When Caleb tries to persuade the group to turn away from their life of crime, Mr. Raymond is the only one to listen to him with open ears; however, the captain says that there is no forgiveness under the law and that he has done too much to ever go back.

Gines is part of Mr. Raymond’s group of thieves and becomes secondary antagonist in Volumes II and III of the novel. Gines is the one who attacks Caleb on the road after he breaks out of jail, robbing him of his clothes even though he already has nothing and beating him badly. When Mr. Raymond learns about this, he votes to kick Gines out of the group. Gines leaves angry and returns back to his old administration job of being a blood-hunter. When he sees Caleb’s wanted notice, he makes it his mission to take the man down. Gines is the reason for Caleb’s second arrest and much of the torment that the main character faces. Later in the novel, Gines begins to work for Ferdinando, who hires him to follow Caleb around and wreck his reputation so he can never have any peace or hope of settling down. Gines is a character who starts off as cruel and only gets worse.