The Lady
The Lady is the central character in The Blazing World. She is a strong and ambitious woman who serves as the novel's primary protagonist. In the story, she travels to the Blazing World after being kidnapped by a lustful merchant who attempts to marry her. Eventually, she becomes Empress of the Blazing World and commits to exploration and understanding of the social and religious norms that govern there. The Lady represents a progressive and independent woman for her time, challenging traditional gender roles and showcasing the power of imagination.
The Duchess of Newcastle
The Duchess of Newcastle is a significant character in The Blazing World. As a fictionalized representation of Cavendish herself, the Duchess is a conduit for the author's desires, aspirations, and intellectual pursuits. Through the character of the Duchess, Cavendish showcases her insatiable intellectual curiosity. The Duchess is depicted as a learned and imaginative woman, driven by a thirst for knowledge and a desire to push the boundaries of understanding. She embodies Cavendish's passion for learning, allowing the author to explore and express her beliefs in the power of intellectual pursuits. Through the Duchess, Cavendish challenges the existing intellectual norms of her time and emphasizes the importance of embracing curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. The character of the Duchess of Newcastle serves as an embodiment of Cavendish's intellectual aspirations, becoming a vessel through which the author explores the potential of imagination and the power of intellectual endeavors in The Blazing World.
The Emperor
The Emperor of the Blazing World is a powerful and influential figure who marries the Lady, believing her to be a goddess. The Emperor gives the Empress the freedom to rule over and govern the Blazing World. The Emperor represents the existing power structures in place in the Blazing World that the Empress seeks to understand. He rules firmly but benevolently and eventually accompanies the Empress in the battle against those invading her homeland.
Margaret Cavendish
While the Duchess is the fictional counterpart to the real-life author, Margaret Cavendish, she also writes herself into the novel through the note to the reader at the beginning of the text. Cavendish explains to the reader why she wrote the novel in the first place, and how it relates to Observations Upon Experimental Philosophy, the text with which The Blazing World was originally published. It becomes clear that Cavendish is also interested in the relationship between fiction and real life, as she includes herself in the novel in three different ways: as Margaret Cavendish, as the Lady/Empress, and as the Duchess.
Duke of Newcastle
The Duke of Newcastle is the Duchess's husband, and he is based on Cavendish's real-life husband William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle. The Duke is a Royalist supporter (i.e., a supporter of the monarchy at a time when there was increased argument in favor of a commonwealth) who lost the majority of his estate in the English Civil Wars. The Duke is virtuous, kind, and intelligent, supporting the work of scientists and writers. Cavendish presents him as an ideal man, showcasing not only her love for her actual husband but also her own virtues through the figure of the Duchess, his wife.
King of ESFI
The Empress is originally from ESFI, a kingdom that most recognize as an acronym for England, Scotland, France, and Ireland. The King of ESFI is being threatened by other armies in the second half of the novel. Eventually, the Duchess travels to ESFI with an army from the Blazing World and helps defeat the King's enemies, making them pledge loyalty to the King. Like the characters, the plot of The Blazing World also resembles closely the political and social conflict of Cavendish's own time.
The Immaterial Spirits
The immaterial spirits are a group of souls who inhabit the Blazing World. They often visit the Empress to share with her the nature of scientific phenomena like the mind, body, spirit, and the workings of the universe. When the Empress asks for a scribe to help write her treatise (or cabbala), the immaterial spirits send her the Duchess. The spirits have no bodies, but can inhabit other bodies and travel across time and space, explaining how they have garnered so much wisdom about the world. The immaterial spirits often represent Cavendish's own philosophies about the natural world.
Fortune
Fortune appears in The Blazing World when the Duchess's husband, the Duke of Newcastle, is introduced. She argues that the Duke had long mistreated her, leading to her disfavoring him (hence, why he lost his estate during the English Civil Wars). Eventually, however, Honesty also appears and accuses Fortune of being fickle and dishonest. Fortune flees, and the novel suggests that she and the Duke will never reconcile. The Duke, the text implies, will continue to experience poor fortune despite his virtuous behavior and philosophy.
Hybrid Creatures
When she becomes Empress of the Blazing World, the Lady encounters a number of hybrid, half-animal, half-human species including bear-men, bird-men, fox-men, fish-men, worm-men, and satyrs, among others. She learns that each of these species serves a particular scientific role such as natural philosopher, chemist, astronomer, etc. She also learns that these hybrid species exist according to their own rules within their group, but that all the groups live harmoniously together in the Blazing World.
Green People
The green people in the Blazing World are one of the hybrid groups that the Empress meets. Unlike the half-animal, half-human hybrids, the green people are fully human. Their skin, however, is green.
