Tom Jones (Classic Serial) characters

Appears from the start

A foundling raised in Squire Allworthy's household. Tom is generous, courageous, and quick to help others, but his impulsiveness and sexual inconstancy repeatedly make him appear worse than people who behave badly behind a respectable surface.

Appears from the start

A wealthy Somerset landowner who discovers an abandoned baby and raises him as Tom Jones. Allworthy intends to judge people by morality rather than birth, though his confidence in sober appearances leaves him vulnerable to manipulation.

Appears from the start

Allworthy's acknowledged nephew and heir, brought up beside Tom. Blifil presents himself as disciplined and dutiful, winning the trust of guardians and tutors while quietly treating Tom as an obstacle to inheritance and Sophia.

Appears from the start

Squire Western's intelligent daughter and Tom's beloved. Sophia can see the generosity beneath Tom's faults, but she refuses to surrender her judgment either to her father's marriage plans or to Tom's expectation of forgiveness without reform.

Appears from the start

Sophia's loud, energetic father, devoted to hunting and convinced that paternal authority includes choosing her husband. He first favors Tom but becomes determined to marry Sophia to Blifil when property and family approval align behind the match.

Appears from the start

A young woman from a poor gamekeeper's family whose relationship with Tom exposes both his appetite and the unequal judgment applied to men and women. The apparent consequences of their affair initially prevent Tom from declaring himself to Sophia.

Appears from the start

Sophia's maid and traveling companion. Honour is talkative, practical, and conscious of status, but she helps Sophia resist a forced marriage and carries information between private and public worlds.

First appears in chapter 2

A former schoolmaster once accused of fathering Tom. He joins the adult Tom on the road, hoping the young man's restoration will improve his own fortunes, and serves as an eager if not always effective companion.

First appears in chapter 2

A woman Tom rescues during his journey. Calling herself Mrs Waters, she appears to be a respectable traveler in distress and accepts Tom's escort to an inn, where their intimacy creates a new obstacle between him and Sophia.

First appears in chapter 3

Sophia's fashionable London relation and protector. Lady Bellaston is accustomed to using money, rank, and secrecy to arrange other people's lives, and her desire for Tom makes her hostile to a reconciliation between him and Sophia.

First appears in chapter 3

A benevolent London widow who gives Tom lodging and friendship. Her household provides him with allies at the point when fashionable society and legal danger threaten to fix the worst possible interpretation on his conduct.

Appears from the start

The woman publicly identified as Tom's mother when he is found as an infant. Her disappearance leaves the truth of his birth unresolved for many years, making her eventual testimony central to the question of his place in Allworthy's family.