Characters in Princess & The Hustler - AQA

• The three main characters in Princess & The Hustler are:

  • Phyllis ‘Princess’ James
  • her brother Wendell ‘Junior’ James
  • her mother, Mavis James.

• The audience are also introduced to Wendell ‘The Hustler’ James and his daughter, Lorna, at the start of the play.

• The two other characters in the play are Margot, who is Mavis’ friend, and Leon, who is Junior’s friend.

Remember

When writing about a character, you should think about:

• Key moments for the character

• If and how the character changes throughout the novel

• The writer's intentions and message relating to the character

• How a reader or audience might respond to the character.

• Curious
• Imaginative
• Friendly

Princess is the play’s protagonist. She is 10 years old. Princess lives in Bristol – a city in the southwest of England – and dreams of travelling to the nearby seaside town of Weston-super-Mare to enter its ‘Beauties of the West’ contest.

Princess imagines a world of pageantry in her cupboard, where she wears a cardboard crown and a sash and imagines exploding fireworks and music playing. Throughout the play, the vibrancy of the ‘cupboard world’ reflects how Princess is feeling.

Princess is innocent and child-like. She does not resent her father leaving, like Junior does – perhaps because she was too young to remember it. Her relationship with Wendell blossoms by the end of the play – he is the only other character invited into Princess’ imaginary world.

Princess is very friendly, curious and talkative when meeting Lorna but in Act Two, Scene Five, there is a shift in her character. Princess becomes unwell and lies on the sofa watching her family. At the end of the scene she angrily destroys her cupboard world, runs away and cuts her hair. It is clear that the racist bullying that Princess experiences at school is damaging her happiness and self-esteem.

Through Princess, Odimba communicates lessons about the effects of discrimination and also about self-love. Through the course of the play, and with the help of her family, Princess learns to love and celebrate herself.

• Hardworking
• Protective
• Caring

Mavis is Princess and Wendell Junior’s mother. She works hard making curtains for a living and is close friends with Margot, her white neighbour.

Mavis is 38 years old and has raised her two children alone since Wendell left her. She shows her love through high expectations and strict boundaries, but is also playful and affectionate with her children.

When Wendell returns, she does not take him back easily. She sets boundaries and rules for him.

When she accepts Wendell’s marriage proposal at the end of the play she says that if he can’t promise to be a good father to Princess and Junior, “then better to leave now”.

Mavis encourages Princess to love herself and to appreciate her own beauty. She tells her:

We are everything that is beautiful on this earth. And you…you the prettiest of them all because you are my girl.

• Independent
• Outspoken
• Responsible

Wendell Junior is Princess’s older brother. He is 17 years old and loves photography. He teases Princess but also takes care of her.

Junior is outspoken and able to express his emotions clearly. He makes it clear from the start that he does not approve of his father returning. He is responsible and looks out for his family, for example by sending Princess and Lorna home with Leon when he finds them alone at the docks.

He is also independent and passionate, as shown through his involvement in the Bristol Bus Boycott. Even after he is attacked, he continues to protest showing his strong values and commitment to justice.

Despite receiving presents from Wendell, Junior doesn’t allow himself to be won over easily. Wendell greets Junior as “My son!” at the end of the play, and Junior instigates taking a family picture, which suggests that the success of the bus boycott has brought them together.

• Charming
• Unreliable
• Resilient

Wendell is Mavis’s estranged husband and father to Princess and Junior. He is described in the stage directions as “tall and handsome”. Wendell left his family years earlier, but returns at the start of the play with another daughter, called Lorna.

Wendell does not present as a trustworthy father. For example, he leaves Princess and Lorna alone at the docks and is seen hiding a bundle of money from them whilst there. He also tries to charm Mavis and buys Junior gifts, possibly to try and win his affection.

Throughout the play, Wendell and Mavis become close again. Wendell reveals some of the racial prejudice he has struggled against as a Black man and supports the bus boycott, showing his growing political awareness and sense of responsibility. He undermines this though, when he disappears for two days and reappears drunk.

At the start, Wendell is proud of his nickname ‘The Hustler’ but after he proposes to Mavis he rejects this title. He says, “Hustle nuh win anything far mi”, suggesting that he is planning to change his ways.

A new, more fatherly side to Wendell is seen right at the end of the play when he walks “hand in hand” into the cupboard with Princess and “gently” places the crown on her head.

• Reserved
• Quiet
• Protected

Lorna is Wendell's other daughter. She is nine years old and reserved, in contrast to Princess’ talkative nature.

Lorna’s mother who never appears in the play is white and Wendell is Black so Lorna is mixed-race. In the 1960s, some people still held hostile, racist attitudes towards interracial relationships.

It is hinted that Lorna has been protected from learning about racism when Mavis asks Wendell, “You don’t think to educate that girl?”. He replies that “Where she come fram dese things nuh spoken ‘bout”.

Through Lorna, Odimba explores the damaging impact of colourism and its effect on family relationships and identity.

In some situations, Lorna’s lighter skin seems to benefit her: she is invited to parties that Princess isn’t. However, in Act Two, Scene Three, Lorna reveals that she is struggling with her mixed-race identity. She tells Princess that:

I’m not Black like you. I’m only half. Half of everything.

This struggle with feeling "half" extends to her identity within the James family. She rejects Princess as her sister saying “I’m not like you”.

It could be argued that Lorna is the character who is most displaced at the end of the play – she is still adjusting to the changes in her life.

• Talkative
• Caring
• Prejudiced

Margot is a 42-year-old white woman and Mavis's friend and neighbour. She is a complex character – loyal and loving, but also racially prejudiced.

Margot is very talkative and flirts with Wendell before she realises he is Mavis’s husband. She also flirts briefly and, some might argue, inappropriately with Leon. She is single, lives alone and enjoys male attention.

Margot is supportive, loyal and cares a lot for Mavis and her children, particularly Princess. She explains to Wendell that, “Mavis and me are always together. I look out for her and she… She looks out for me.”

Despite seeing Mavis as family, Margot doesn’t understand the motivation behind the bus boycott or see any issue with the colour bar. She calls the boycott “silly” and worries that it will take jobs away from white people, like her brother.

There is a real conflict between Margot’s love for the James family, and her lack of interest in racial equality. This creates tension between herself and Wendell, in particular.

When Princess runs away, she hides in Margot’s home. Margot knows how to comfort Princess and make her feel safe. She responsibly lets Mavis know her daughter is found and returns Princess the next morning.

• Responsible
• Mature
• Caring

Leon is 19 years old and is Junior's best friend. They share an interest in photography.

Leon is a good friend and responsible influence on Junior. When he and Junior find Princess and Lorna alone at the docks, he takes them home safely saying the docks are “no place for young girls”.

Junior seems to respect Leon and looks for his approval: “You think my photos are getting better Leon?”. At times he is a calming, mature influence on Junior too. He encourages him to control his emotions around his father:

Cool it Junior.

Leon speaks highly of his own father, who is outspoken about important social issues and a lead figure in the bus boycott.

Test your knowledge of Princess & The Hustler by taking this multiple-choice quiz.