To Have and to Hold: Analysis of Major Characters
"To Have and to Hold: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate relationships and conflicts among key figures in the historical context of early 17th-century Virginia. Captain Ralph Percy is portrayed as a determined Virginia planter who, against his instincts, marries Jocelyn Leigh to protect her from an unwanted marriage to Lord Carnal. Jocelyn, who initially deceives Percy for her safety, struggles with her feelings but ultimately grows to love him as she witnesses his unwavering loyalty and bravery.
Lord Carnal serves as the primary antagonist, embodying the darker traits of ambition and cruelty, while his physician, Nicolo, represents the malign influence of foreign characters in the narrative. Jeremy Sparrow, a close friend of Percy and a clergyman, brings strength and humor to the story, aiding the couple in their trials. Diccon, a complex character with a troubled past, adds depth to the narrative, illustrating the struggles of the lower class amidst the colonial backdrop. Lastly, Nantauquas, a Native American character, navigates the tension between his people's fate and the encroaching settlers, ultimately displaying both conflict and compassion. This character analysis enriches the understanding of the themes of love, loyalty, and cultural clash in the narrative.
To Have and to Hold: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Mary Johnston
First published: 1900
Genre: Novel
Locale: In and near Jamestown, Virginia, and the West Indies
Plot: Historical
Time: 1621–1622
Captain Ralph Percy, a Virginia planter and veteran of the Dutch war for independence. He was among the first settlers at Jamestown. Against his better judgment, he takes the advice of his good friend, John Rolfe, and seeks a wife among the women who arrive in the colony early in 1621. Rescuing her from the rude attentions of some of his fellow colonists, Percy chooses on impulse the haughty but beautiful Jocelyn Leigh. By his marriage, he incurs the wrath of Lord Carnal. He risks imprisonment and death to win the respect and eventually the love of his wife. At the end of this quest, Percy saves Jamestown by warning his fellow settlers of the projected slaughter of all the colonists by the united Indian tribes of eastern Virginia.
Jocelyn Leigh, a ward of the English king, James I. She flees to Virginia under an assumed name to escape being forced into an unwanted marriage with Lord Carnal, a man whom she hates. In desperation, she weds Captain Ralph Percy to gain his protection. Although she confesses her deception to her husband, her pride will not permit her to love the man whose name and devotion she has accepted. When Carnal pursues her to Virginia, Jocelyn realizes that her flight may cost Ralph his life. Slowly she falls in love with the man whose loyalty never falters despite arrest, torture, and almost certain death. Surviving the attack on Jamestown, Jocelyn is reunited with the husband whom she now loves as well as respects.
Lord Carnal, one of the favorites of James I. His personality combines all the loathsome qualities associated with those handsome young men who preyed on the English king's weaknesses. There are no redeeming aspects to Carnal: He follows Jocelyn Leigh to Virginia to force her into an unwanted marriage simply to see her suffer, and he marks Captain Percy for death by thwarting his plan. After an accident robs Carnal of his physical beauty, he escapes from his failures to retain the king's favor and to win Jocelyn Leigh by taking poison.
Jeremy Sparrow, a former actor turned minister. He is a close friend of Captain Ralph Percy and is the clergyman who marries him to Jocelyn Leigh. A giant of a man who possesses both great strength and courage, Sparrow saves Ralph and Jocelyn from certain death and effects their eventual reunion. A ventriloquist, he uses his talent both to amuse and to serve his friends when they are in danger.
Diccon, who like Percy is a veteran of the Dutch wars. Because of minor criminal offenses, he is indentured to his former commander. Unlike the majority of the novel's characters, Diccon possesses a personality that has real depth. He is both saint and sinner, a surly, brawling man who attempts at one point to murder Ralph Percy, only to sacrifice himself for that same master whom he loves and hates. A man of the lowest social class, he is nevertheless a complex individual, a bundle of contradictions.
John Rolfe, the husband of Pocahontas, the close friend of Captain Ralph Percy and his defender from the attacks of Lord Carnal and the authorities of the Virginia Company. A well-known historical personality, Rolfe was one of the early leaders of England's first successful colony in North America. The tragic early death of his wife left him a widower at the time of the attempted slaughter of the English in Virginia, and he moves through the novel as a sad but ever-noble figure. Endowed with all the virtues associated with persons of gentle birth, he is the obvious opposite of Lord Carnal.
Nicolo, Lord Carnal's physician, the personification of evil. His death by self-administered poison is regretted by no one, including his master. A combination of all the bad qualities attributed by seventeenth century Englishmen to all foreigners, and especially to Italians, Nicolo is woven into the fabric of the story like a dark thread twisted into one of the tapestries favored by the early Virginians.
Nantauquas, the son of Powhatan and the brother-in-law of John Rolfe, the noble savage brought to life. A friend of the English settlers and especially of Captain Ralph Percy, he is haunted by the fear of what may happen to his people and their way of life if the number of colonists increases. Although he reluctantly participates in the massive attack by the Indians on the Virginia colony, he spares the lives of Ralph Percy, Jocelyn Leigh, and Jeremy Sparrow. Sorrow and a certain fatalism cling to Nantauquas like the fur mantle he wears.