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Undine
A water spirit who gains a soul after marrying Huldbrand, a human knight.
- Character Development: Undine undergoes instantaneous character development the day after she marries Huldbrand and receives a soul, transforming overnight from a mischievous, petulant Wild Child into a demure Proper Lady.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Most artists depict Undine with blond hair to match her sweet and gentle nature.
- Happily Adopted: Undine and her foster parents genuinely love each other.
- Love Martyr: Undine bears all of Huldbrand's mistreatment without complaint or rebuke.
- Making a Splash: As a water spirit, Undine has control over water.
- Meaningful Name: Undine is literally an undine, a kind of mythological water nymph. The word undine comes from the Latin unda, which means "water" or "wave".
- Princess Protagonist: Undine is water spirit nobility as her father is a powerful prince of the Mediterranean Sea.
- Proper Lady: Undine becomes one overnight after gaining her soul.
- Unrequited Tragic Maiden: In an unusual example, Undine becomes one when the man she loves abandons her for another woman after they are already married.
- Water Is Womanly: There are many kinds of nature spirits associated with different elements, but Undine is specifically a water spirit.
Huldbrand
The knight who marries Undine and later betrays her by marrying Bertalda.
- Asshole Victim: Huldbrand is cruel to Undine and marries Bertalda despite receiving confirmation his first wife is still alive. Even the fisherman, Bertalda's birth father, declares Huldbrand's death was an act of divine judgement against him.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Huldbrand is introduced as such. He initially seems to fit the archetype too, until he betrays his wife by marrying another woman.
Bertalda
The foster daughter of a duke and the woman Huldbrand was intially courting before he met and married Undine.
- Asshole Victim: Undine is never anything but kind to Bertalda who treats her cruelly and marries her husband. You don't feel too bad when Undine kill Huldbrand, leaving Bertalda a widow.
- Connected All Along: She is the lost biological daughter of the fisherman and his wife, Undine's foster parents.
- Distinguishing Mark: The fisherman and his wife are able to determine she is their daughter as she has a birthmark in the shape of a violet between her shoulders and on her foot.
- Proud Beauty: Bertalda is very prideful of her appearance to the point she has the well unsealed because its water is good for her complexion.
- Really Royalty Reveal: Inverted much to Bertalda's dismay. She throws a fit when she learns her birth parents are peasants and not royalty as she hoped, accusing Undine of lying and bribing the fisherman and his wife to lie as well.
- Rich Bitch: Bertalda is the foster daughter of a duke and was raised in luxury. She reviles peasants and is furious when she learns her birth parents aren't nobility or royalty as she hoped.
- Spoiled Brat: Bertalda is prone to throwing fits when she doesn't get her way. When Undine has the well sealed with the water she uses for her complexion, she runs away from the castle and into the forest in a rage.
Kuhleborn
Undine's uncle and a powerful river spirit.
- The Cassandra: He tries to warn Undine not to allow Bertalda to stay with them. She ignores him and suffers the consequences when Huldbrand and Bertalda's affections for each other are reignited.
- The Dreaded: The locals all know and fear the man in white who haunts the forest. He takes delight in terrorizing Huldbrand and Bertalda for their cruel treatment of Undine.
- Papa Wolf: Kuhleborn is fiercely protective of Undine and threatens Huldbrand never to be unfaithful to her. However, this is implied to stem from him disliking any member of his race to be mistreated by a human, and not from any affection for Undine herself.
