Skip to main content

Characters

The characters of Finnegans Wake constantly shift and transform, but certain figures recur throughout.

The Earwicker Family​

HCE — Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker​

The Father. A Dublin publican sleeping through the night whose dream is the book.

Names and Forms​

  • Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker
  • Here Comes Everybody
  • Haveth Childers Everywhere
  • Howth Castle and Environs
  • H.C.E.
  • Persse O'Reilly
  • Mr. Porter

Mythological Identities​

  • Adam — The first man, fallen
  • Finn MacCool — Irish giant sleeping under Dublin
  • Tim Finnegan — The man in the ballad
  • Noah — Builder, drunkard
  • Humpty Dumpty — Fallen, broken

Characteristics​

  • Guilt over an unspecified crime
  • Sexual anxiety about daughter, wife, sons
  • Publican (runs a pub)
  • Stutters (especially on his initials)
  • Associated with mountains, earwigs, eggs

Sigla: ⊓​

ALP — Anna Livia Plurabelle​

The Mother. The River Liffey, the wife, the letter-writer, the life force.

Names and Forms​

  • Anna Livia Plurabelle
  • Anna Livia
  • ALP
  • The Letter (she writes it; she may be it)
  • The Hen (finds the letter)

Mythological Identities​

  • Eve — First woman
  • The River Liffey — Dublin's river
  • All rivers — 500+ named in I.8
  • Isis — Egyptian goddess
  • The Virgin Mary — Mother figure

Characteristics​

  • Flow, change, continuity
  • Defends HCE against accusations
  • Associated with water, deltas, triangles
  • Both young beauty and old washerwoman
  • Returns to the sea in the final monologue

Sigla: ∆​

Shem the Penman​

The Artist Son. Joyce's self-portrait, the writer, the despised creator.

Names and Forms​

  • Shem the Penman
  • James (Shem = Gaelic for James)
  • Jerry
  • Glugg (in the Mime)
  • Dolph (in the Lessons)

Characteristics​

  • Writes with his own excrement
  • Stays home, introverted
  • Despised by Shaun
  • Associated with the pen, left side, ink
  • Creates the letter/book

Relationship to Shaun​

Always in conflict. They are Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, introvert and extrovert, artist and man of action. They sometimes merge: "Shem was Shaun and Shaun was Shem."

Sigla: ⌐​

Shaun the Post​

The Man of Action. The postman, the politician, the popular brother.

Names and Forms​

  • Shaun the Post
  • John (Shaun = Gaelic for John)
  • Kevin
  • Chuff (in the Mime)
  • Kev (in the Lessons)
  • Jaun, Yawn, Juan

Characteristics​

  • Delivers the letter (but doesn't write it)
  • Extroverted, popular
  • Ambitious, political
  • Associated with the post, right side
  • Preaches, pontificates

Sigla: ⌐ (reversed)​

Issy (Isolde)​

The Daughter. Object of desire, the mirror image, youth and sexuality.

Names and Forms​

  • Issy
  • Isolde
  • Isabel
  • The Rainbow Girls
  • Nuvoletta
  • Her mirror reflection (often appears doubled)

Characteristics​

  • Split personality (herself and her mirror)
  • Object of HCE's inappropriate attention
  • Desired by both brothers
  • Associated with mirrors, rainbows, youth
  • Writes footnotes in the Lessons chapter

Sigla: ⊣​

The Four Old Men (Mamalujo)​

Four witnesses who recur throughout, representing the four evangelists, four provinces of Ireland, four elements, four ages.

NameEvangelistProvinceElement
Matt GregoryMatthewLeinsterEarth
Marcus LyonsMarkMunsterWater
Luke TarpeyLukeConnachtAir
Johnny MacDougallJohnUlsterFire

They appear as:

  • Judges at HCE's trial
  • Bedposts watching the parents
  • Evangelists recording events
  • Four waves
  • "Mamalujo" (from their first initials: M.M.L.J.)

Sigla: X​

Kate and Sackerson​

Kate​

The cleaning woman/maid. Associated with the past, memory, and the museum. She gives tours of the "Willingdone Museyroom."

Sackerson​

The man-of-all-work. A servant figure. Named after the bear in Shakespeare.

Character Transformations​

Characters constantly shift into one another and into historical/mythological figures:

HCE becomes:​

  • Wellington at Waterloo
  • King Mark (Tristan's uncle)
  • Noah
  • All founding fathers
  • The dreamer dreaming himself

ALP becomes:​

  • The Prankquean
  • Biddie the Hen
  • The Liffey
  • All rivers
  • All mothers

The Twins become:​

  • Cain and Abel
  • Jacob and Esau
  • St. Patrick and the Archdruid
  • Tree and Stone
  • Mutt and Jute
  • Mookse and Gripes
  • Ondt and Gracehoper

Issy becomes:​

  • Isolde (of the Tristan legend)
  • The two temptresses in Phoenix Park
  • Stella and Vanessa (Swift's women)
  • Any young woman

Using the Third Census​

Adaline Glasheen's Third Census of Finnegans Wake (1977) tracks every character appearance. For each name, it lists:

  • All pages where the character appears
  • Alternative names and forms
  • Historical/mythological sources
  • Relationships to other characters

This is essential for tracking characters through their transformations.

See Also​

  • Themes — The thematic significance of characters
  • Structure — Where characters appear
  • Annotations — Resources for identification