Count D'elmont
The hero of Haywood's novel, D'elmont is painted in a white light of innocence and mind numbing ignorance. In Part One of the story, D'elmont is resolved to only marry for ambition (money). Throughout the novel, he ruins multiple women, including: Amena and Alovisa. He also has multiple affairs with multiple women, including: Melantha, and Melliora.
Amena
The first woman to be ruined by D'elmont. She is seen as beautiful and graceful. Although she is the daughter of Sanservian, her family has no money. Because Amena is not wealthy, D'elmont only wants to use her for her body, he never intends to marry her. After a meeting in the Tulliery's after dark with the Count, Amena's reputation is ruined and she is sent of to a monastery.
Alovisa
D'elmont's first wife, Alovisa is described as wealthy, beautiful, manipulative, vain, and jealous. D'elmont marries her for her vast wealth, but he feels no love for her. The novel begins with her in lust with D'elmont but this lust turns into a deep love for him. Part Two of the novel ends with her death, as she ran into D'elmont's sword by accident.
Melliora
Melliora is the daughter of Frankville Senior, the man who took care of D'elmont for part of his childhood. On his deathbed, Frankville asks D'elmont to be Melliora's guardian, because she is not yet of age. D'elmont agrees and instantly falls into a deep love of her. Melliora is seen as the ultimate woman, she is beautiful, kind, and innocent. D'elmont decides he must have her and starts to scheme ways to rape her, even though he is married to Alovisa still and she is his ward living in his house (her father figure). Melliora escapes to a monastery after Part Two, when Alovisa dies. At the monastery, she is kidnapped by another man who wants to sleep with her (Marquess Saquillier) . However, the third part of the novel ends with Melliora safe and married to D'elmont.
Sanservian
Amena's father.
Chevalier Brillian
D'elmont's younger brother and D'elmonts most trusted confident. He loves the beautiful Ansellina.
Ansellina
The woman that Chevalier Brillian loves and she loves him. However, a man named Bellpine also loves her and he wants to marry her. She is the sister of Alovisa. By the end of the Third Part, she is happily married to Brillian.
Bellpine
The other man in love with Ansellina. He challenges Chevalier Brillian to a duel for her hand in which he loses, thus prompting Brillian to run away, as duels are illegal. He causes Ansellina and Brillian's love to linger, since they can't be together because of him in the beginning.
Henry Frankville
Frankville Senior's son and Melliora's brother. After D'elmont saves him from murderers, the two become fast friends in Italy. He loves Camilla.
Camilla
The daughter of Fialasco and the step daughter to Ciamara. Both Henry Frankville and Cittolini love her. She loves Frankville.
Marquese Saquillier
The man that kidnaps Melliora from the monastery so he can marry or rape her. Melliora does not love him, she only cares for D'elmont. So he marries another at the end of the third part.
Carlotta
The woman Marquese Saquillier marries in the end. She has always loved him. She is also a friend of Melliora's from the monastery.
Cittolini
A greasy man in love with Camilla. He is the father of Violetta. He is described as older and with darker skin. He is not to be trusted, according to Haywood. He dies of heartbreak when he thinks his daughter, Violetta is dead.
Violetta
The daughter of Cittolini. She is beautiful and loyal to D'elmont. She loves the count and only wants to help him. She dresses up as a page boy named Fidelo so she can help D'elmont in his travels to find Melliora after she has been kidnapped. Violetta dies of heartbreak when she learns her father died of heartbreak thinking she had died when she left as Fidelo.
Melantha
The sister of Baron Espernay. She is in lust with D'elmont and wants to sleep with him. She succeeds with her plan and gets pregnant. However, she is one of the lucky women, as she finds a respectable man to marry her and he never guesses about her early pregnancy. She is one of the only woman to be rewarded for her poor actions.
Baron Espernay
The brother of Melantha and the confidant of D'elmont. He helps D'elmont scheme to try and rape Melliora.
