Helen Macdonald
The main character of the book is the narrator. Since the book is memoir, this means the protagonist is the author herself. Helen Macdonald is a falconer in addition to being an author, illustrator and college instructor. The story grew out of a combination of her love for nature and a desperate desire to work her way through the grief of losing her father.
Dad
Although her father has already passed away by the time the central events of the narrative commence, his presence lingers of the story as if he were a living, active participant. Helen’s thoughts constant turn to memories of her father whom she describes early on as “my bad, but also my friend, and a partner in crime when it came to quests.”
T.H. White
Another imaginative example of characterization is utilization of T.H. White. White is an author most famous for version of the legends of the court of King Arthur in The Once and Future King and The Sword in the Stone. White also wrote a book titled The Goshawk and it is that volume which plays a major role in the story as it was that book which fueled Macdonald’s lifelong interest in falconry and birds of prey. White is also a constant companion in her thoughts because of a shared sense of anxiety related to feelings of loneliness and loss.
Mabel
Mabel is goshawk that Macdonald purchases with the intent to train. Over the course of the narrative, Mabel becomes much as the author begins to invest in the bird a connection which establishes a sense of order and stability which is increasingly at odds with the tumult in the rest of her life. That sense of anxiety becoming overwhelming begins with the loss of her father, but is intensified and complicated by losing a job which brings on the real potential of possibly losing her home. Meanwhile, relationships with other humans become increasingly more difficult for her to deal. The idea of entrusting Mabel to return if she sets her free becomes the epicenter of her fear of loss and loneliness proving too great to overcome.
