Character Clues

Character Analysis

Clothing

We learn tons about the characters in this book based on what they wear. For Camilla, even an out-of-fashion dress can't make her look bad—she still comes across just sweet as can be. But Mrs. Cranston has trouble pulling off her fancy ball gown, which lets us know that being polite and elegant are not her thing.

The funny thing about this book, though, is that the mice wear clothes too (and by funny we also mean kind of adorable). So we learn about the mice's personalities through clothing just like we do with the human characters. Just look at Louise—we know she wants to be like Camilla because she wears Camilla's handkerchief. We talk about clothing more in the "Symbols" section, so hop on over there for more details.

Direct Characterization

Helena tells it like it is. She's got plenty of opinions up her sleeve, and she's not afraid to spill the dirt. So if you want to know about Beatrice, just look to our narrator—she'll tell you about how meek her little sis can be. Or if you're hankering for some details about Mr. Cranston's temper, our gal Helena will tell you what's what (hint: he can be an angry fellow).

Type of Being

Since we have animals and humans in this book, the type of being they are can tell us a lot about our characters. And sometimes the characters are just what you'd expect. When it comes to the ship's cat, you can bet it likes to chase mice—and when the mice in our tale go to sleep, they dream about, well, cheese.