The School for Scandal characters

Appears from the start

A fashionable society hostess who turns gossip into a weapon. She wants Charles Surface for herself and privately directs a scheme to break his attachment to Maria, using fabricated stories and Joseph Surface's cooperation.

Appears from the start

Lady Sneerwell's confidential accomplice, skilled at planting false reports and tracing how they spread. He helps manufacture the story meant to separate Charles Surface and Maria.

Appears from the start

The elder Surface brother, widely praised for sober principles and benevolence. In private he assists Lady Sneerwell because he hopes to marry Maria and gain her fortune, while carefully protecting his public reputation.

Appears from the start

Sir Peter's young ward, who loves Charles Surface despite his debts and refuses Joseph's calculated courtship. She is distressed by the malicious gossip surrounding Charles and by the pressure to prefer his outwardly respectable brother.

Appears from the start

An older wealthy man whose recent marriage to a much younger country woman has become a source of constant quarrels. He is guardian to Maria and a longtime friend of the Surface family, inclined to trust Joseph's reputation and despair over Charles's conduct.

Appears from the start

A trusted friend of Sir Peter and former steward to Sir Oliver Surface. Sensible and loyal to both Surface brothers, he distrusts fashionable scandal and helps arrange a fair test of their characters when Sir Oliver returns.

First appears in chapter 2

Sir Peter's young wife, recently introduced to wealthy London society. She enjoys fashion, spending, and the attention of Lady Sneerwell's circle, and answers her husband's complaints with lively arguments, though she has not yet lost all attachment to the values of her earlier life.

First appears in chapter 2

A prominent member of Lady Sneerwell's circle who claims to dislike malicious talk while eagerly repeating it. Her expressions of concern provide a polite cover for passing along damaging stories about absent acquaintances.

First appears in chapter 2

A talkative member of the scandal-loving circle and Sir Benjamin Backbite's uncle. He arrives with elaborate reports about other people's private lives and treats rumor as a form of social entertainment.

First appears in chapter 2

Crabtree's nephew, a fashionable young man who composes satirical verses and seeks Maria's attention. He participates readily in the group's attacks on reputations while remaining vain about his own wit and standing.

First appears in chapter 2

The wealthy uncle of Charles and Joseph Surface, newly returned from many years in the East Indies. Hearing opposite accounts of his nephews, he decides to meet them in disguise so their treatment of a supposed stranger will reveal their true characters.

First appears in chapter 3

The younger Surface brother, burdened with debt and notorious for extravagant living. He loves Maria and makes little effort to imitate Joseph's moral seriousness, leaving open whether his obvious faults conceal a more generous nature.

First appears in chapter 3

A moneylender who knows Charles and the realities of his debts. He assists Sir Oliver in approaching Charles under the assumed identity of a lender prepared to buy the young man's expected inheritance.

First appears in chapter 3

Charles Surface's servant, whose own careless manner reflects his master's disorderly household. He receives visitors amid the drinking and financial confusion surrounding Charles.