The Pathfinder: Or, The Inland Sea: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Pathfinder: Or, The Inland Sea" is a novel set during the French and Indian Wars, focusing on a cast of characters navigating love, loyalty, and conflict in a tumultuous landscape. Central to the narrative is Thomas Dunham, a sergeant who wishes to arrange a marriage between his daughter, Mabel, and the courageous wilderness scout, Natty Bumppo, known as Pathfinder. Mabel finds herself torn between her admiration for Pathfinder's bravery and her true affection for Jasper Western, a freshwater sailor who is initially suspected of being a spy.
The story also features characters like Charles Cap, Mabel's skeptical uncle who ultimately gains respect for Jasper, and Lieutenant Davy Muir, a duplicitous officer whose actions complicate the plot. The tension escalates through encounters with hostile Native American tribes, including Arrowhead, a Tuscarora chief with conflicting emotions towards Mabel. As the narrative unfolds, themes of friendship, sacrifice, and the complexities of relationships emerge, particularly as characters face moral dilemmas and the harsh realities of war. Ultimately, the characters' journeys intertwine, leading to emotional resolutions amidst the backdrop of a perilous yet captivating wilderness.
The Pathfinder: Or, The Inland Sea: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: James Fenimore Cooper
First published: 1840
Genre: Novel
Locale: Lake Ontario and environs
Plot: Adventure
Time: 1756
Thomas Dunham, a sergeant of the Fort Oswego garrison in the western New York territory during the French and Indian Wars. He has his daughter Mabel brought to the fort in order to promote a marriage between her and his friend Natty Bumppo, the wilderness scout called Pathfinder by the English. On a tour of duty among the Thousand Islands, his party captures and sinks three French ships; when they return to an island blockhouse, however, he and his men are ambushed by Iroquois Indians, and he is mortally wounded. Attended by his daughter, he dies blessing her and Jasper Western, whom he believes to be Pathfinder.
Mabel Dunham, his young, warm, frank, and pretty daughter. After Pathfinder has saved the party with which she travels from hostile Indians, she comes to respect Pathfinder's courage and skill in the woods, but the man she truly loves is his friend, Jasper Western. At Fort Oswego, she finds herself courted by Jasper, Pathfinder, and Davy Muir, each of whom accompanies her father on a tour of duty. During an Indian ambush, she is saved by the warnings of an Indian girl and the resolute defense of Pathfinder and her uncle. In the end, Path-finder relinquishes her to Jasper, whom she marries.
Charles Cap, Mabel Dunham's crusty uncle, a hardy fellow who accompanies his niece to Fort Oswego and later goes with Sergeant Dunham on his tour of duty to relieve a garrison in the Thousand Islands. A seagoing sailor, he suspects and derides Jasper Western, a freshwater sailor, but learns to respect the young seaman when Jasper saves the cutter Scud after Cap had almost wrecked it during a storm. After barely escaping an Indian ambush, he ably assists Pathfinder in the defense of a beleaguered blockhouse until help arrives. He sees his niece married to Jasper and returns to the sea.
Natty Bumppo, called Pathfinder, the frontier scout in his prime. A man of great courage, resourcefulness, and honesty, he falls in love for the only time in his life, but in return he receives little more than Mabel Dunham's esteem. After protecting her in many perils, Pathfinder learns of Jasper West-ern's and Mabel's mutual love and defers to his friend. His personal integrity remains pure as he moves on with his Indian friend of many years, the Mohican chief Chingachgook.
Jasper Western, called Eau-douce because he is a freshwater sailor, Pathfinder's younger companion and successful rival for Mabel Dunham's hand. A skilled and honorable man, he is nevertheless under suspicion of being a French spy. When circumstances seem to prove his guilt, his command of a cutter is temporarily taken away from him. After he has aided in relieving the besieged blockhouse, the real spy is revealed. The discovery clears his name, and Pathfinder's relinquishment of Mabel leaves him free to marry his love.
Lieutenant Davy Muir, the glib quartermaster at Fort Oswego, a thrice-wed, middle-aged suitor of Mabel Dunham. Resentful of his subordinate position, he secretly spies for the French, puts the blame for his treachery on Jasper Western, and survives an Indian ambush. His successes are cut short when Arrowhead, a resentful Tuscarora Indian, mortally stabs him.
Arrowhead, the bold, ambitious Tuscarora chief who tries to lead Mabel and her uncle into an ambush; he falls in love with the white girl. He is later caught by the party aboard the cutter but escapes to lead the two ambushes that almost prove fatal to Sergeant Dunham's party. Thinking that Muir has betrayed him, he kills the spy and is killed by Chingachgook in turn.
Dew-of-June, the submissive, gentle wife of Arrowhead. Although she saves Mabel Dunham by warning her of danger from hostile Indians and whites, she remains loyal to her husband. Mourning his death, she goes to live with Mabel, but dies soon afterward.
Chingachgook, whose name means “the Great Serpent,” a Mohican chief and Pathfinder's loyal friend. A lifelong foe of the Iroquois, he aids his friend Pathfinder in many encounters with hostile Indians and the French.
Major Duncan, of Lundie, the generous, considerate commanding officer of Fort Oswego. Warned by an anonymous letter that Jasper Western is a spy for the French, he is forced to advise Sergeant Dunham to watch the young man carefully.
Captain Sanglier, the audacious French leader of the Iroquois. Captured after the siege of the blockhouse, he contemptuously reveals that Lieutenant Muir, not Jasper Western, has spied for the French.
Corporal McNab, the stubborn soldier who hesitates to believe Mabel Dunham's warning of an impending Indian ambush. He is shot during the skirmishing.
Jenny McNab, his wife. She is killed while trying to pull her husband into the blockhouse when the Indians attack.