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Characters

Melchior Gabor: A fourteen-year-old boy. Melchior is an atheist who, unlike the other children, knows about sexual reproduction. He writes his best friend Moritz an essay about sexual intercourse, which gets him expelled from school after the suicide of his friend and the discovery of the essay. His parents send him to a reformatory after his father discovers he had sexual intercourse with Wendla and got her pregnant.

Wendla Bergmann: A girl who turns fourteen at the beginning of the play. She begs her mother to tell her the truth about how babies are born but is never given sufficient facts. In the middle of act two, Wendla and Melchior have sex in a hayloft. She conceives Melchior's child without any knowledge of reproduction. She dies following a botched abortion arranged by her mother and a midwife who lives across the street from the family home.

Moritz Stiefel: Melchior’s best friend and classmate, a student who is traumatized by puberty and his sexual awakenings. Moritz does not understand the "masculine stirrings" and changes happening to him<. A poor student due to his lack of concentration and constant pubertal distractions, he passes the midterm exams at the beginning of the play. However, Moritz is ultimately unable to cope with the harshness of society, and when his plea for help from Fanny Gabor (Melchior’s mother) is declined, he commits suicide.

Ilse: A carefree and promiscuous childhood friend of Moritz, Melchior, and Wendla. She ran away from home to live a Bohemian life as a model and lover of various painters. Ilse only appears in two scenes throughout the show, and is the last person to whom Moritz speaks before he commits suicide. She finds the gun he used and hides it.

Hanschen (Hänschen) and Ernst: Two friends and classmates of Melchior and Moritz, who discover they are gay. Hanschen is a kind and loving individual who seduces the frail and timid Ernst. Towards the end of the play, they confess their love for one another. (In the English translation of the play by Jonathan Franzen, Hanschen is called Hansy.)

Otto, Georg, Lämmermeier and Robert: Schoolmates of Melchior and Moritz. They laugh at Moritz and tease him when he threatens to shoot himself. Georg once had a sexual dream about his own mother.

Thea and Martha: The schoolgirl friends of Wendla. Martha has a crush on Moritz and is physically abused by her mother and father. Thea is attracted to Melchior.

Frau Bergmann: Wendla's mother, who seems not to want her child to grow up too quickly and refuses to tell her daughter the truth about reproduction and sexuality.

Fanny Gabor: Melchior’s mother, who pens a letter to Moritz to show her support of his studies. When she finds the truth of Melchior impregnating Wendla and writing an essay about sexuality for Moritz, she protests sending her son to a reformatory.

Herr Gabor: Melchior’s father.

Sonnenstich: The school headmaster who expels Melchior from school upon learning of the essay Melchior wrote for Moritz.

Knuppeldick, Zungenschlag, Fliegentod, Hungergurt: Teachers at Melchior’s school.

Pastor Kahlbauch: The town’s religious leader, who leads the sermon at Moritz’s funeral.

The Masked Man: A mysterious, fate-like stranger who appears in the final scene of the play to offer Melchior hope for redemption.