- The Unicorn is the protagonist of the story. She leaves the safety of her forest upon learning that she is the last unicorn in the world, with information about the Red Bull as her only clue. When she first encounters the Red Bull, Schmendrick manages to inadvertently change the Unicorn into a human female to confuse the Red Bull and force its withdrawal. Schmendrick calls her "Lady Amalthea" so as not to arouse King Haggard's suspicions. Her alias evokes the Greek goddess Amalthea.[6]
- The butterfly is an eccentric character who happens upon the Unicorn at the beginning of the story. While speaking in riddles and songs, he manages to give the Unicorn some vital information about the fate of other unicorns. The butterfly's dialogue is drawn from things that amused the author and his childhood friend during a trip to Berkshire Hills where Beagle began writing the novel.[6]
- Mommy Fortuna is a wicked old witch, who uses her dark magic to run a sideshow carnival for profit. The carnival features what appear to be mythical creatures, but are actually just normal animals that have been enchanted, with the exception of the harpy Celaeno. The name "Fortuna" alludes to the Roman goddess of fortune, and German mythical hero Fortunatus.[6]
- Schmendrick is a bumbling magician who travels with Mommy Fortuna's traveling carnival out of pure necessity. Reduced to entertaining the sightseers who come to the carnival, Schmendrick wants nothing more than to become a true, powerful magician who does not rely on card tricks and cheap illusions. When he sees the captured Unicorn for what she is, he decides to free her and join her quest. Schmendrick was a character Beagle had initially made up for his children's bedtime stories, and was called "the world's worst magician". The name "Schmendrick the Magician" is a parody of the character "Mandrake the Magician", and is also drawn from a Yiddish word schmendrick that Beagle defines as "somebody out of his depth, the boy sent to do a man's job, someone who has expanded to the limits of his incapacity."[6]
- Captain Cully is the leader of a second-rate band of outlaws in direct opposition to King Haggard. Although he attempts to be dashing and hospitable, Cully falls victim to his own jealousy of famous mythical outlaws such as Robin Hood, an illusion of whom Schmendrick inadvertently conjures. According to Beagle, Captain Cully's name is drawn from an old English slang word for "buddy".[6]
- Molly Grue is Captain Cully's common-law wife. As a young woman she had eloped with him, naively attracted to the romance of loving a woodland fugitive and sharing his life. Unfortunately, this turned into years of serving Cully's ragged vagrants as their camp cook. When she discovers Schmendrick leaving with the unicorn, she decides to follow them and do whatever she can to help the unicorn in her quest. Molly Grue's name is drawn from a French word meaning "crane". While never initially making the connection, Beagle notes that it is possible that the name was also inspired by his "favorite writing teacher in high school".[6]
- The Red Bull is a formidable fiery beast with menacing horns that has chased and charged-down unicorns, driving them into the sea. Only the defeat of the Red Bull can release the captive unicorns.[6]
- King Haggard is a miserable and cruel ruler who cares for no one, not even his adopted son Prince Lír. His loneliness and misery is alleviated only by the sight of unicorns, which drove him to capture all unicorns for his own pleasure, in tandem with the Red Bull. While the king's name is quite literal, Beagle elaborated "on the one hand, it is a particular look, but on the other it's also a falconer's term. It's what you call an undomesticated hawk, a bird that knows the rudiments but is not reliable. If you fly a haggard, you might never see it again, it might go back to the wild." Adding how he has "never really been able to see [Haggard] as a villain", Beagle explains seeing much of his own character in Haggard to the point that he "felt sorry for him".[6]
- Prince Lír is a skilled hero who was adopted by King Haggard, who found him in the town of Hagsgate. Prince Lír is the opposite of his adopted father, with a life of valor, honor, and compassion for others. He falls in love with Lady Amalthea, not realizing her true identity. For all of her arrogance towards humankind, the Unicorn falls in love with Lír. Beagle "knew that the prince's name had to be one syllable" and chose "Lír" because he liked the sound of it, but later noted he borrowed the name of a Celtic sea god, Llyr, added to the fact that becoming "King Lír" after succeeding his adoptive father "echoed Shakespeare".[6]
This content is from Wikipedia. GradeSaver is providing this content as a courtesy until we can offer a professionally written study guide by one of our staff editors. We do not consider this content professional or citable. Please use your discretion when relying on it.
