Literary Characters

Named fictional characters from works of literature: the protagonists, antagonists and other significant figures readers and critics discuss as characters in their own right, from Hamlet and Elizabeth Bennet to Raskolnikov and Atticus Finch, spanning every era, language and literary form the atlas covers. Each entry treats the character as a subject in its own right, distinct from the work that introduces them, carrying traits, relationships and critical reception rather than plot summary alone. Belongs here: a named fictional character created within a literary work, whatever the work's genre or form. Does not belong here: the work itself, filed under Works and connected to its characters by an edge; the work's author, filed under Authors; a genre, literary movement or form the character's work belongs to, filed under Genres, Movements or Forms respectively; and a character who is primarily a religious, mythological or historical figure rather than a literary invention, whose primary record belongs to Divinity or History and is linked here only if literature has substantially treated them as a character.