Caleb Williams

“The spring of action which, perhaps more than any other, characterized the whole train of my life, was curiosity.”

Caleb defines himself by his curiosity, and it is often his driving force when it comes to his actions. Caleb highlight’s this characteristic’s importance by noting it at the very beginning of the novel.

“Mr. Falkland is the principal agent in my history; and Mr. Falkland in the autumn and decay of his vigor, such as I found him, cannot be completely understood without a knowledge of his previous character, as it was in all the gloss of youth, yet unassailed by adversity, and unbroken in upon by anguish or remorse.”

The story of Ferdinando and Barnabas shapes the story of Ferdinando and Caleb, so Ferdinando’s backstory is necessary to understand his later motivations.

“They could not help remarking the contrast between these two leaders in the fields of chivalry, the one of whom paid no attention to any one’s pleasure but his own, while the other seemed all good-humor and benevolence.”

Comparisons of Ferdinando and Barnabas appear several times during Volume 1. These temperamental differences set the groundwork for the inevitable boiling point that the conflict between them reaches.