Captain of the Guinea Trading Ship

Arriving in London, Crusoe happens to meet the master of a ship bound for Guinea. The two men become friends, and Crusoe decides to make the journey too. Unfortunately, the man dies en route to Guinea.

Captain’s Widow

The widow of Crusoe’s friend the captain of the Guinea trading ship is one of the two substantial female characters in the book. A trustworthy friend, she watches his money and becomes his London agent.

These responsibilities are appropriate to the gender roles governing the London financial district. Women as well as men were investors in the Bank of England—affectionately known as the lady of Threadneedle Street.

Comrade in Hull

Crusoe meets a friend in Hull who offers him a trip to London. This friend represents the youth of the English mercantile class as well as a life of adventure. He inspires Crusoe in his dreams of a life at sea.

The Comrade’s Father

The comrade’s father is the master of the first vessel Crusoe travels on in Yarmouth, where he goes to recover. When his comrade tells his father that Crusoe was on the vessel as a sailor, he tells Crusoe that he ought to give up seafaring.

The comrade’s father resembles Crusoe’s own father. They are both old-fashioned men and fearful of change. For them, a man’s destiny is determined at birth.

Robinson Crusoe

The protagonist of Defoe’s fictional autobiography, Crusoe is an adventurous man who rejects the expectations of his family and the constraints of the English middle class for a life on the high seas. After a devastating wreck at sea—of which he is the only survivor—he is forced to confront his fear about being alone in order to survive the harsh demands of his solitary existence.

Crusoe is not by nature a brave man. In time, his reason grows sharper and he conquers his fears. In fact, for a time he wanders the island without any weaponry. He learns how to do many diverse tasks, such as making an axe, baking bread, and building an elaborate shelter. When faced with marauding cannibals, he attacks them and rescues their captives. Finally, when he returns to London, he is able to readjust to English life and even gets married and has a family.

Friday

Friday is a native man rescued by Crusoe; the young man eventually becomes his loyal servant. He is described by Crusoe as a Creole—a mix of African and Indian—and represents the wildness of nature. Through his relationship with Friday, Crusoe is able to confront his fear of the native people of the region.

When Friday offers to exchange ideas with Crusoe on religion or technology, Crusoe refuses to learn from his knowledge. For example, when they begin to build a boat together, Friday wants to show Crusoe how to burn out the inside. Crusoe, however, insists on the more laborious method of using a hatchet. Crusoe’s reluctance to treat Friday as an equal symbolizes general European attitudes toward “the savage.”

Eventually, Friday becomes Europeanized, accepting English customs and religious concepts. He symbolizes the process of colonialization.

Mr. Kreutznaer

Crusoe’s father is an immigrant from the town of Bremen, Germany. A merchant by trade, Mr. Kreutznaer’s name is changed in England to Crusoe. He is a “wise and grave man” who pleads with Crusoe to give up his notions of adventure and settle in England at a solid middle-class occupation like law.

Mrs. Kreutznaer

Although his mother refuses to intercede on Crusoe’s behalf and win him his father’s blessing, she does support her son in private. She represents the “proper...