The House of the Scorpion characters

Also known as Matt, Matteo Alacrán

Appears from the start

A boy created from a sample of Matteo Alacrán's cells and carried to term inside a cow. He is the only one of the resulting embryos to survive.

First appears in chapter 2

The estate cook who raises Matt in a cottage among the poppy fields. Loving but highly protective, she keeps him hidden and insists that he never leave the house while she is at work.

Also known as El Patrón, Matteo Alacrán

First appears in chapter 6

The ancient and immensely powerful ruler of Opium, the country-sized estate between the United States and Aztlán. Matt was made from his cells and therefore shares his name and appearance. The household treats El Patrón with a mixture of privilege, dependence, and fear.

First appears in chapter 2

A lively young girl visiting the Alacrán estate, and the first child to show Matt uncomplicated kindness after discovering him. She is curious, impulsive, and distressed by the degrading way others treat him as a clone.

First appears in chapter 3

A servant placed in charge of Matt after he is taken to the main estate. Disgusted by his status as a clone, she confines him in filthy conditions and treats him as an animal.

First appears in chapter 6

A broad, scarred Scotsman who serves as one of El Patrón's bodyguards. Assigned to protect and educate Matt, he combines physical toughness with patience, practical skill, and a moral independence rare on the estate.

First appears in chapter 2

El Patrón's great-grandson and one of the children who discover Matt's cottage. He is older than María, conscious of his position in the family, and expected to inherit an important place in the Alacrán empire.

First appears in chapter 2

María's older sister, who visits the estate with Steven. Polished and socially secure, she accepts many of the household's assumptions about clones and status.

First appears in chapter 9

A younger Alacrán boy whose charm conceals a taste for humiliating people and causing pain. His tricks repeatedly target Matt and María.

First appears in chapter 20

María and Emilia's mother, long absent from their lives and publicly dismissed as irresponsible. Matt encounters her political writing, which condemns the systems that enrich Opium and exploit powerless workers.

First appears in chapter 26

An older Lost Boy at the plankton factory in Aztlán. Sharp-tongued and resilient, he distrusts easy promises but quickly recognizes the injustice behind the Keepers' doctrine.

First appears in chapter 26

A large Lost Boy whose slow, repetitive speech causes others to underestimate him. He understands machinery, operates the factory's shrimp harvester, and becomes a loyal ally to Matt.

First appears in chapter 26

The youngest and smallest of the Lost Boys Matt meets in Aztlán. Separated from his family and desperate for affection, he attaches himself to Matt and the older boys.

First appears in chapter 28

A senior Keeper at the plankton factory, where he lectures the Lost Boys about equality while preserving comfort and authority for himself. He uses humiliation and punishment to enforce obedience.