Desire Under the Elms characters

Appears from the start

The youngest son on Ephraim Cabot's isolated New England farm. Eben believes the land rightly belonged to his dead mother and that his father exhausted her through work. Brooding and possessive, he remains on the farm when his older half-brothers dream of leaving.

Appears from the start

The elderly, fiercely religious owner of the Cabot farm and father of Simeon, Peter, and Eben. Ephraim has spent decades forcing productivity from hard land and expects the same hardness from his family. He has been absent, leaving his sons uncertain whether he will return or die away from home.

Appears from the start

Ephraim's eldest son and Peter's brother, born to Ephraim's first wife. Worn down by years of farm labor, Simeon longs to join the California gold rush. He and Peter share resentment of their father and suspicion of Eben's claim to the property.

Appears from the start

Ephraim's second son and Simeon's close companion. Like his brother, Peter has labored for years without gaining ownership of the farm and sees California as a possible escape. He is practical about turning his uncertain inheritance into money.

Appears from the start

A local woman with whom Eben seeks physical comfort. Minnie already knew Ephraim before becoming involved with his son, and her easy familiarity contrasts with the hostility and possessiveness inside the Cabot household.

Appears from the start

Ephraim's much younger third wife, newly arrived at the farm. Abbie has known poverty and approaches the marriage as a chance to gain a home of her own. She is energetic, sensual, and determined to establish her place despite Eben's immediate hostility.

Also known as Abbie's baby

First appears in chapter 3

The infant born to Abbie while the Cabot household assumes Ephraim has fathered a new heir. His birth intensifies the struggle over love, inheritance, and ownership of the farm.

First appears in chapter 3

The local officer who arrives after Eben reports the death of Abbie's baby. He listens to the competing confessions and takes Abbie and Eben into custody, viewing the Cabot farm with the desire that has shaped the family tragedy.