Arsenic and Old Lace characters

Appears from the start

A New York drama critic and member of the eccentric Brewster family. He has long mocked marriage in print, but arrives at his aunts' Brooklyn home newly engaged to Elaine Harper. His attempt to share the news is overtaken by a discovery in the window seat that turns him into the increasingly frantic manager of a household crisis.

Appears from the start

One of Mortimer's kindly elderly aunts, known in the neighborhood for hospitality and charitable work. She and Martha calmly explain that they have developed their own private way of helping lonely old men, treating the practice as an act of mercy rather than a crime.

Appears from the start

Abby's sister and Mortimer's other aunt. Gentle, practical, and wholly devoted to her family, she shares Abby's charitable reputation and her alarming secret. The sisters remain composed even while everyone around them struggles with the consequences of their actions.

Appears from the start

Mortimer's brother, who believes that he is President Theodore Roosevelt. He charges up the stairs as though they were San Juan Hill, blows a bugle, and digs what he thinks is a canal in the cellar. His harmless delusion unknowingly helps his aunts conceal their activities.

Appears from the start

The minister's daughter who lives next door to the Brewsters and has just become engaged to Mortimer. Direct and affectionate, she expects to celebrate and then leave with him, but his secretive and erratic behavior repeatedly pushes their plans aside.

Also known as Dr. Harper

Appears from the start

Elaine's father and the minister of the church next door. He respects Abby and Martha and disapproves of Mortimer's public attacks on marriage, making Mortimer's sudden engagement to Elaine an awkward surprise.

Appears from the start

Mortimer's estranged brother, a violent fugitive who returns to the family home after years away. Repeated surgery has left him with a face resembling a familiar horror-film actor, a comparison that enrages him. He arrives seeking temporary shelter and a place to conceal evidence of his latest crime.

Appears from the start

A nervous plastic surgeon and Jonathan's traveling companion. Alcohol and haste have contributed to Jonathan's conspicuous appearance. Though involved in Jonathan's crimes, he is frightened of him and far less willing to add another victim to their record.

Appears from the start

A lonely visitor who answers the Brewster sisters' notice offering a room. His lack of close family makes him exactly the sort of prospective lodger Abby and Martha believe needs their special form of assistance.

First appears in chapter 2

A friendly local patrolman and aspiring playwright. He is so eager to explain the plot of his unfinished drama to Mortimer that he remains oblivious to Mortimer's urgent attempts to deal with the danger around him.

First appears in chapter 3

The senior police officer who arrives to bring order to the Brewster house. More observant than the patrolmen, he recognizes Jonathan from police records and cuts through the family's competing explanations.

First appears in chapter 3

The superintendent of the sanitarium where Mortimer hopes to place Teddy. His visit to complete the commitment is complicated by the sisters' decision about their own future and by their interest in whether he has a family waiting for him.