Gulliver's Travels (AmazonClassics Edition) characters

Appears from the start

An English surgeon and experienced seaman whose repeated voyages carry him to societies unknown to European geography. He is observant, practical, proud of his country, and initially inclined to explain unfamiliar customs without recognizing all the assumptions behind his own.

Appears from the start

Gulliver's wife in England and the mother of his children. She remains at home when financial need and Gulliver's restless attraction to the sea lead him to accept another voyage.

First appears in chapter 2

The ruler of Lilliput, a man less than six inches tall who approaches the captive Gulliver with a mixture of ceremony, curiosity, and caution. He commands an elaborate court and expects service in return for liberty and favor.

First appears in chapter 4

Lilliput's principal secretary for private affairs. He treats Gulliver with courtesy and explains the internal party conflict and foreign danger shaping the emperor's demands.

Also known as Glumdalclitch

First appears in chapter 10

The farmer's nine-year-old daughter in Brobdingnag, enormous by Gulliver's scale. She makes him a bed, protects him from household dangers, sews clothes for him, and becomes his devoted caretaker and teacher.

First appears in chapter 9

A Brobdingnagian farmer who discovers Gulliver in a field and carries him home. He first treats the tiny stranger as a curiosity and soon recognizes that public exhibitions may make him profitable.

First appears in chapter 11

The queen of Brobdingnag, who is fascinated by Gulliver when he is presented at court. She purchases him from the farmer and gives him a secure place in her household, retaining Glumdalclitch as his attendant.

First appears in chapter 11

The thoughtful ruler of Brobdingnag. He questions Gulliver closely about England's government, laws, wars, and social order, judging the visitor's proud account by standards formed outside European political life.

First appears in chapter 18

The monarch of the flying island of Laputa. Like his court, he is absorbed by mathematics and music, and his attention often has to be recalled to the person standing before him.

First appears in chapter 20

A respected landowner in Balnibarbi who hosts Gulliver after he leaves Laputa. His well-managed estate follows proven methods and is therefore mocked by neighbors committed to the grand but unsuccessful projects promoted by the academy at Lagado.

First appears in chapter 29

The gray Houyhnhnm who receives Gulliver into his household. Rational, composed, and unfamiliar with lying, he learns Gulliver's language and asks him to explain the human society from which he came.

First appears in chapter 38

A Portuguese sea captain who finds Gulliver after his departure from the Houyhnhnms' country. He responds to the castaway's hostility and strange behavior with patience, generosity, and practical care.