The Pearl characters

Appears from the start

A poor pearl diver who lives with his family beside the sea. He supports them from his canoe and clings to a simple vision of security, family, and dignity. When a scorpion threatens his infant son, his frustration with the town's wealthy doctor exposes how little protection poverty affords him.

Appears from the start

Kino's wife and Coyotito's mother. Calm, capable, and deeply protective of her family, she treats her son's scorpion sting with a traditional remedy and insists that the doctor must see him despite the household's lack of money.

Appears from the start

The infant son of Kino and Juana. A scorpion stings him in his hanging box, and the effort to secure treatment for him sets his parents' hopes and fears in motion.

Appears from the start

A prosperous physician in the colonial town who considers Kino's family beneath his social station. He initially refuses to treat Coyotito when Kino cannot offer acceptable payment.

Appears from the start

Kino's older brother, who lives nearby with his own family. He is practical, loyal, and familiar with the ways the town's more powerful residents exploit people from their community.

Appears from the start

Juan Tomás's wife and Juana's sister-in-law. She helps gather the family and neighborhood around Coyotito after the scorpion sting.

First appears in chapter 3

The local priest, who takes a new interest in Kino's household after news of the great pearl spreads. He reminds Kino and Juana of their place in the church and of the marriage ceremony they have never been able to afford.

First appears in chapter 4

A merchant who appraises pearls for purchase. He presents himself as an expert working in an open market, but Kino suspects that the town's buyers cooperate to keep prices paid to divers low.