The Tale of Despereaux - Characters

Characters

Despereaux Tilling - The main character of the story, Despereaux was born as a castle-mouse and the only living mouse of his mother's last litter. Named for the despairs and sadnesses of that time, Despereaux is an oddball among the mouse community from birth, as he is born with a small body, huge ears, and his open eyes. He grows up to be very different from the other mice in this tale, choosing to read books instead of eating them, and he does not learn to scurry like any other mouse, because he becomes fascinated by a certain fairy tale about a beautiful princess and a knight in shining armor and learns from it ideas such as chivalry and courage, which his fearful elders dismiss as absurd. Through his large ears, Despereaux is able to listen to the music that the king plays for his daughter Princess Pea, and because of this, he is able to meet and fall in love with the human princess. This behavior, however, does not go undetected by the mice, and when he is sent to the dungeon as Despereaux must rely on his wits, bravery, and inner strength in order to save himself and the princess.

Princess Pea - The Princess of Dor and the only child of the king and queen, Pea is a sharp-eyed and beautiful girl whom Despereaux grows to honor and love upon their first meeting and she also comes to adore the mouse. Though kind-hearted and loved by the people of the castle, Pea is often overcome with loneliness after her mother's death. Because of her title as a princess, Pea is not used to being told what to do and sometimes takes slight offense when someone does not appreciate her for her title. However, when her past actions cause her kidnapping, Pea comes to use her forgiveness, good nature, and place as royalty for the good of the other characters.

Chiaroscuro (known as "Roscuro") - Chiaroscuro was born innocent among the evil rats of the castle dungeon some years before Despereaux. Because of a match-related reprimand from the jailer, Roscuro did not act like a rat, afraid of light. He comes to be fascinated by light and goodness, despite objections from fellow rats. However, his love of light is what causes him to make a grave mistake in the human world, resulting in his plot to take revenge on the humans by kidnapping the princess. In the end, it is through the actions of Despereaux and the princess, and Roscuro's own true love for light that he finds his self-redemption.

Miggery "Mig" Sow - Born in the countryside of Dor, Miggery Sow was an often mistreated child, since nobody around her cared much for what she wanted. Her mother died when she was very young and soon after, her father sold her to a man whom she was forced to call "uncle". Miggery had to work for the man to whom she was sold for many years with little or no thanks. The man would also give her "clouts to the ear," rendering her to be almost completely deaf. Despite her harsh life, Miggery remained a well-meaning albeit simple-minded child. On her seventh birthday, an accidental meeting with the royal family causes Miggery to dream of becoming a princess. When she turns twelve, she is rescued from slavery by the soldiers of the castle, and she is given the position of serving-maid in the castle itself, befriending Princess Pea but becoming an unintentional pawn in Roscuro's plan. She is the secondary antagonist, but redeems.

Botticelli Remorso - Botticelli is a very old one-eared rat who lives in the dungeon and is suspicious of Roscuro and his ability. Botticelli believes that the meaning of life is suffering, specifically the suffering of others, and that Roscuro should take action and become a part of the rat community. He had taken a golden heart-shaped locket from a prisoner and hung it on a thin braided rope. Whenever he speaks, the locket moves. Botticelli is evil, and wishes for the princess to die. Later in the book, he leads Despereaux to the princess in order to kill him later, and intends on feeding the princess to his army of malicious rats.

Gregory the Jailer - When Despereaux tells Gregory a story he saves him from being killed by the rats. He wears a long rope that protects him from getting lost in the dungeon's darkness. Chiaroscuro chews up this rope and as a result Gregory becomes lost in the darkness and starves to death.

Furlough Tilling - One of Despereaux's many older brothers. He betrays Despereaux and sends him to the dungeon. He had previously tried to teach Despereaux to be afraid of things, and hated him for his difference from other mice. He refuses to try and help his brother when he is banished. At the end, he is shown to be disgusted by Despereaux's well-being.

Lester Tilling - Lester Tilling is Despereaux Tilling's father. He sent his own son to the punishment of being exiled to the dungeon, where the rats would no doubt eat him. Later, after Despereaux escapes the dungeon on Gregory's tray, Despereaux pays a visit to the Mouse Council, which pronounced his sentence. Lester is forgiven for the perfidy he committed against his son.

Antoinette Tilling - Despereaux's French mother who arrived in Dor in a foreign diplomat's luggage. She cares too much about her appearance and is often picky. Although, like most of Despereaux's family, Antoinette is inconsiderate of Despereaux, she is sad when he is thrown into the dungeon and defends him occasionally in the book.

Cook - The head cook of the castle who hates mice.

King - The king of Dor