The Sleeping Dictionary |top| — Cast Of

Thorne represents the colonial system’s pattern of exploitation and abandonment. His reappearance is a legal and emotional crisis for Pom.

: A fellow colonial official who serves as a foil to Truscott’s more sympathetic approach to the local population. Supporting Cast and Local Figures

Thorne does not appear extensively but looms large in Pom’s memory. He abandons her upon learning of the pregnancy. Later, he tries to claim Hannah, not out of love but because his British wife cannot bear children. cast of the sleeping dictionary

Pom begins as a village girl from a tribal community in the Sundarbans, orphaned after a flood. She is sold into servitude and then into a brothel in Calcutta. Her intelligence and resilience allow her to escape, first to a missionary school, then into the world of publishing. She eventually becomes a secretary for a British publisher and later a novelist herself.

Hannah embodies the “Eurasian” dilemma in colonial India—neither fully British nor Indian. Her existence forces Pom to challenge both British moral hypocrisy and Indian social conservatism. Supporting Cast and Local Figures Thorne does not

Pod represents the nationalist, progressive Indian man—one who rejects caste and class prejudices, though not without internal struggle. He is a foil to the British colonial men who exploit Indian women.

Caroline believes Hannah is an orphan and wants to adopt her. She is sympathetic as a woman but represents the British assumption of racial and class superiority—she never considers that Pom, as the biological mother, has rights. Pom begins as a village girl from a

Fleming hires Pom (as Pamela) as his secretary. He encourages her writing and offers her intellectual respect. However, when her past is revealed, he fails to support her publicly, choosing instead to protect his reputation.

Complex colonial figure. Background: A British publisher in Calcutta who runs a small press. He is cultured, relatively liberal, and appreciates Indian literature.