Lord Jim Characters

Jim, the titular character of Lord Jim, is a romantic young man in his mid-twenties who dreams of becoming a hero. He forms an unusual friendship with an older sea captain named Marlow and… read analysis of Jim

Marlow is an older sea captain who narrates Jim’s story, first through a monologue he delivers to an audience at a dinner party, then through a series of letters he sends to the privileged… read analysis of Marlow

Doramin is the elderly but steady leader of a group of Malay called the Bugis in Patusan, who rebel against the cruel rule of Rajah Allang. Marlow describes Doramin as one of the… read analysis of Doramin

Dain Waris is one of the Bugis people from the remote region of Patusan and the son of Doramin. He is a spirited warrior who nevertheless controls himself in the presence of his respected… read analysis of Dain Waris

Gentleman Brown is a notorious sailor who causes havoc for Jim in Patusan, ultimately leading to Jim’s death. Marlow meets Brown on Brown’s deathbed, and so while the version of events that Marlow hears… read analysis of Gentleman Brown

Jewel (who is often simply called “the girl”) is the part-white, part-Malay stepdaughter of Cornelius and the eventual wife of Jim. Jewel seems to be a nickname, signifying the immense value she has to… read analysis of Jewel

Rajah Allang is a greedy, dirty-looking Malay man who tries to impose his control over the Bugis people of Patusan. While Doramin, Patusan’s leader, is a noble leader who remains steady despite his… read analysis of Rajah Allang

Cornelius is the stepfather of Jewel and Jim’s predecessor in working with Stein at Patusan. Cornelius is cruel, ugly, and manipulative—although he paints himself as a victim, it’s heavily implied that he was… read analysis of Cornelius

The skipper (or captain) of the Patna is a white man charged with leading a passenger ship of mostly nonwhite Muslim pilgrims. Jim is the skipper’s chief mate. As a leader, the skipper is a… read analysis of The Skipper

Tamb’ Itam is Jim’s faithful servant and bodyguard while he lives in Patusan. Tamb’ Itam loyally watches over Jim. Though Jim becomes famous for his power and invincibility, this reputation is really built… read analysis of Tamb’ Itam

Sherif Ali is a bandit who is an enemy both of Doramin’s Bugis people and of Rajah Allang. Jim’s daring plan to use cannons against Sherif Ali isn’t very tactically sound, but… read analysis of Sherif Ali

Captain Brierly is a distinguished captain who is one of the men presiding over Jim’s trial. He seems bored and convinced of Jim’s guilt during the trial. Marlow, however, who observes Jim’s trial… read analysis of Brierly

Two engineers escape the Patna along with the skipper and Jim, but perhaps the most significant engineer is George, the third engineer who dies while attempting to escape the ship. George’s fate is ironic—he… read analysis of George

The privileged reader is an unnamed character who is at the dinner party where Marlow tells Jim’s story. After the story, he comes up to Marlow and makes racist comments about how Jim sold… read analysis of The Privileged Reader

The French lieutenant is a character who witnessed the Patna incident without understanding what was going on. Despite his lack of understanding, his account helps fill in some gaps in Jim’s story for Marlow… read analysis of The French Lieutenant

Chester is an excitable Australian man who believes he’s found a get-rich-quick scheme with a guano island (guano refers to the excrement of seabirds and bats for use as fertilizer), and he urges Marlow to… read analysis of Chester

The two engineers flee the Patna in a lifeboat with the skipper and Jim. They go along with everything the skipper says, including the lies he talks about what happened on the Patna… read analysis of The two engineers