The Prince and the Pauper

Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales and later King Edward VI, is the novel’s other protagonist. Born into royalty, Edward is the son of King Henry VIII. His birth finally provides Henry a male heir to the throne, and people rejoice at the news of his birth. This immediately places him in opposition to Tom, who was unwanted from the start. Edward’s experience as a pauper teaches him about the hardships that those born without his privilege suffer, ultimately making him a better, more empathetic ruler.

Edward’s journey propels the plot forward and prompts his significant character development. Before his adventures, Edward appears to be largely ignorant of life outside of the royal palace; he is shocked that Tom suffers beatings and is unaware that others do not have servants to take care of them. This changes during his time as a beggar; his life is threatened on numerous occasions, including by a “crazed hermit,” violent crowds, and a trial that nearly results in his hanging. He sees others who do face fatal consequences, especially through the law. His wide-ranging experiences expand his knowledge of life in England and grant him a deeper understanding of what it means to be king.

Edward is defined by his pride as a royal and motivated by his desire to return to the royal palace. While Tom adapts to the role of royal, Edward never tries to become a pauper, despite the dangers and mockery his pride elicits throughout his adventure. Edward’s unshakable identity as royalty speaks to monarchical England’s belief in the divine right of kings. Like many countries in Europe, Tudor England believed that the ruling dynasty’s power came from God and could not be taken away. This is why the mix-up occurs in the first place: Edward strides to the palace gate in Tom’s rags to punish the guard who mishandled Tom, never considering the guard might assume he is a beggar.

Edward’s position as a royal disguised as a beggar plays an important role in the novel, as it allows there to be tangible consequences for how people choose to treat him. Almost all assume that he is an impoverished youth, and because he occupies the lowest rung on the social hierarchy, any treatment of him is acceptable. Acting on this basis, different people reveal their true characters; those who are generally cruel take the opportunity to hurt someone with impunity while those who are good-hearted treat him charitably. The twist that he is indeed the King of England allows for both humor and the book’s message, which is that good deeds will be rewarded and that anyone can find themselves at the mercy of others.

Miles Hendon is the archetypal knight, a valiant and chivalrous character, who acts as Edward’s protector and companion during his travels. He is described as dressed in noble but worn clothes. As is common in The Prince and the Pauper, his clothes reveal elements of his character; he is a noble that has been exiled from his home and has been a soldier of fortune on the continent for 10 years.

Miles’s relationship to Edward reveals an important aspect of his character. Until the final chapter, Miles believes that Edward is “mad,” and yet he is intent on caring for him, promising, “I will teach him; I will cure his malady; yea, I will be his elder brother, and care for him and watch over him” (86). Miles promises this without any expectation of reward and keeps his promise throughout the novel. Edward refers to Miles as a knight, a title Miles skeptically twists to “a knight of dreams and shadows” (185), but he earns the title through his character and goodness. The pair puts a twist on the traditional story of a knight following his duty to protect a king in any situation. For most of the novel, Miles is a fake knight protecting a fake king who turns out to be a real knight protecting a real king.

Like Edward, Miles wants to resume his old life following an unintended absence but faces those who deny his identity. The similarities between their stories show how precarious identity can be in 16th-century England. Readers know that Edward and Miles are telling the truth, but neither can make others believe them.

As with other knights, Miles’s story is intertwined with courtly love. He is also the only character in the book with a romantic subplot, albeit a very underdeveloped one. His childhood love, Edith, first marries his older brother Andrew and then, and after the false news of Miles’s death, she marries Hugh. During their 10 years apart, the love between Miles and Edith does not fade. Miles’s character arc follows fairy-tale narrative logic: The knight is rewarded for his chivalric service by regaining his rightful title, marrying his childhood love, and living happily ever after.

John Canty is the antagonist. He is Tom’s abusive father, whose actions are entirely defined by his violent tendencies and alcohol addiction. A bully and a coward, John has few redeeming qualities. He abuses people with little provocation, and his violence is always directed at those weaker than himself. While he abuses Edward, Tom, Tom’s mother and sisters, and Father Andrew, he is unwilling to challenge Miles Hendon, a trained soldier.

John serves as a foil to the themes of compassion and empathy explored in the novel. His lack of empathy provides a stark contrast to the kindness exhibited by many other characters, most notably Miles Hendon, with whom he competes for guardianship over Edward. This opposition highlights the virtues of Miles Hendon and the comparative lack thereof within John Canty, who remains a model of immoral action.

Despite John’s cruelty, he “failed to make thieves” (14) of his children, who all act with kindness and are eventually rewarded for this. Notably, John Canty does not receive a harsh punishment at the end of the novel. Instead of following the pattern that everyone gets their reward or comeuppance for their treatment of Edward, John Canty flees London never to be heard from again. One suspects that the severity of his crimes would merit too harsh a punishment and detract from the novel’s lessons about showing mercy.

Tom’s Mother, occasionally referred to as Mother Canty, is not developed in the novel but holds thematic importance. Like Tom, she proves that compassion can exist despite being subject to poverty and violence. She and her daughters are described as “good-hearted…unclean, clothed in rags and profoundly ignorant” (14), but neither her lack of education nor her uncleanliness makes her immoral. Her nature is shown through her attempts to protect Edward, whom she thinks is Tom, offering herself as a target of John’s beatings instead.

She is one of the only characters that believes there has been a switch, a theory that she later confirms. This deep understanding of her son allows her to discover that Tom is indeed the king in the procession. Her attempt to greet him and his denial of her is one of the most emotive moments in the novel, with Tom’s enjoyment of royalty shattering as he sees her “so wounded, so broken-hearted” (238).

Her lack of character development reflects the general absence of major female characters in the novel. Mother Canty is not given a name outside of her relation to the Canty family, which is indicative of Twain’s tendency to leave female characters underdeveloped.

Hugh Hendon is the antagonist in the latter half of the novel who opposes the return of his older brother, Miles Hendon, to his ancestral home. Hugh is a greedy and ruthless man, who conspired to have Miles exiled, took control of the Hendon baronet, and forced Edith to marry him and remain silent about his deception. Miles describes him as “a mean spirit, covetous, treacherous, vicious, underhanded—a reptile” (90), an assessment that proves true during the novel.

Hugh’s main motivation is gaining wealth and power. This is apparent with his marriage to Edith, whose wealth he desires though he cares little for her. Despite this, Miles does not view him as solely evil; on the way to Hendon Hall, Miles says some kind things about Hugh and hugs Hugh upon seeing him. This only emphasizes Hugh’s cruelty when he rejects Miles and takes pleasure in whipping him.

Hugh is the archetypal despot, a model for immorality in leadership. He exploits his position, forces his subjects to serve him, and allows people in his lands to be jailed with little cause. His eventual downfall shows poetic justice; he dies in exile in Europe, the fate he intended for Miles.

Henry VIII plays a minor but important role in The Prince and the Pauper. At the beginning of the novel, he is the reigning monarch who promulgates the harsh legal code Edward learns about firsthand during the story. He represents Tudor England’s rigid social structure, which Edward has the opportunity to change after Henry’s death.

In the novel, Henry VIII is a complicated, contradictory character. In Tom’s first meeting with him, he is referred to as “the dread Henry VIII” (36) and his appearance and personality are compared to that of an “ogre” (137, 173). However, he is kind to his son: When he thinks Tom is the “mad” Edward, he wants him cared for and protected. When Henry dies, Edward genuinely mourns for him because of the kindness he always showed.

Twain’s Henry VIII is part of his exploration of identity and social class: Henry is a tyrannical ruler, but he is kind to his son, showing that people can’t always be defined in one way.