Characters / Varjak Paw

Characters appearing in the books Varjak Paw and its sequel The Outlaw Varjak Paw.

---

Varjak's Family

Varjak Paw

• Denied Food as Punishment: Varjak's father denies him supper until he can "learn to act like a Blue".
• The Dog Bites Back: Varjak soundly defeats Julius using the Way, after Julius had bullied him for years.
• Dreaming of Times Gone By: In one dream, Jalal shows Varjak a scene from ancient Mesopotamia.
• Family Eye Resemblance: He turns out to share his eye color with Jalal.
• Fish out of Water: Being an inside cat, Varjak Paw doesn't know anything about the outdoors.
• Kid Hero: He's still just a kitten when he leaves Contessa's.
• Odd Name Out: Varjak is the only (named) one in his living family whose name doesn't begin with "J".
• A Pet into the Wild: He leaves his house in order to find a way to protect his family. Having been a pampered pet, Varjak doesn't have any survival skills or hunting skills at the start of his journey.
• The Pig-Pen: He likes being muddy and dirty because it goes against everything his parents forced upon him. Holly convinces him that he should stay at least somewhat clean, or the humans will think he's wild and take him away.
• Preppy Name: His name gets poked fun at repeatedly.
• Stock "Yuck!": Varjak is disgusted by caviar.
• Supernatural Gold Eyes: His family calls his eyes "the colour of danger", which turns out to be amber like Jalal's. Varjak is the only Paw in generations to be able to use the Way.
• Supernatural Martial Arts: Varjak learns the Way from Jalal.
• The Unfavorite: Varjak is looked down upon by his family for not being a "normal" Mesopotamian Blue.

Jalal the Paw

• Dream People: Jalal appears to Varjak through his dreams.
• Dreaming of Times Gone By: In one dream, Jalal shows Varjak a scene from ancient Mesopotamia.
• Famous Ancestor: He's the first Mesopotamia Blue.
• Meaningful Name: His name is Arabic for "glory".
• Supernatural Gold Eyes: Jalal, originator of the Way and the first Mesopotamia Blue, had amber eyes.
• Supernatural Martial Arts: Jalal was a master of the Way and teaches it to Varjak in his dreams.

Elder Paw

• Cool Old Guy: He's the only one in the family that believes in Varjak and respects him.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He sacrifices himself so that Varjak can run up the Contessa's wall to the Outside.
• Last-Name Basis: Everyone calls him "Elder Paw".
• No Name Given: He's only referred to as "Elder Paw".

Father

• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: He disapproves of Elder Paw telling stories, believing it all to be nonsense and a waste of time.
• Unnamed Parent: He's just known as "Father".
• Would Harm a Senior: Father squares off against Elder Paw after an argument, however Elder Paw backs off before they can actually fight.

Mother

• My Beloved Smother: She has a somewhat condescending, smothering attitude towards Varjak. She sees Varjak as a little kitten even though he's closer to being a teenager.
• Unnamed Parent: She's just known as "Mother".

Julius

• Big Brother Bully: He hates Varjak Paw.
• Graceful Loser: After Varjak defeats him, he surrenders his position as head of the family.
• The Dog Bites Back: Varjak soundly defeats Julius using the Way, after Julius had bullied him for years.

Jay, Jethro, and Jerome

• Alliterative Family: All their names begin with "J".
• Big Brother Bully: It's never stated that they're older than Varjak, as a bit of text hints that they're all from the same litter, but they do ostracize him.
• Kiddie Kid: Varjak claims that they prefer to spend their days "playing silly kitten games" that he personally feels that they should be too old for by now.
• Same-Sex Triplets: They give off this impression, being identical looking brothers from the same litter.

Aunt Juni

• Bit Character: She isn't given much characterization.

Jasmine

• Clashing Cousins: She looks down upon Varjak.
• Disappeared Dad: Her father is nowhere to be seen.

The Contessa

• The Ghost: She's referred to but never seen. It's implied that she's grown ill recently and that she dies at the start of the book. Julius blames Varjak for her disappearance.
• Introverted Cat Person: She is implied to be an introverted old lady who breeds cats.
• Spell My Name with a "The": She's usually referred to as "the Contessa".

Varjak's Peers

Holly

• Friendship Denial: After the loss of Luka, she's lost her trust in friendship. She denies being Varjak's friend but eventually admits to it.
• Mark of the Supernatural / Shared Unusual Trait: At the end of The Outlaw Varjak Paw, one of her eyes has turned the same icy blue as Sally Bones' eyes. Her new heterochromia implies that Sally Bones was grooming her to be her successor, but could not override Holly's innate goodness.
• Messy Hair: She has perpetually spiky hair befitting her spiky personality.
• Parental Abandonment: She's the same age as Varjak but already lives on her own.
• Street Smart: She's a street-savvy stray.
• Tsundere: She keeps others at a distance and can be snappy, but she's nice once you get on her good side.
• Tomboyish Voice: Holly has a gravelly voice.

Tam

• Big Eater: She likes to eat. When she disappears, Holly initially brushes it off as her eating somewhere.
• Disney Death: Varjak and Holly come across a toy that looks like Tam, however it turns out the real Tam is alive and encaged.
• Lovable Coward: She's pretty cowardly, which Holly likes to provoke. Subverted in a scene in which she flees from battle, only to return with reinforcements to help Varjak.
• Odd Friendship: With Holly. Tam is soft and cowardly, Holly is abrasive and hot-tempered.

Cludge

• Big Friendly Dog: He looks like an Angry Guard Dog but is actually quite friendly.
• The Big Guy: His size and intimidating presence strikes terror in most cats. Even Sally Bones is afraid of him.
• Dogs Are Dumb: He's not quite as smart as the cats.
• The Exile: He left his natal pack after an argument with his father. Later, they reconcile.
• You No Take Candle: Whether it be because he's not fluent in cat or because Dogs Are Dumb, he speaks this way.

Luka

• The Ghost: He disappeared prior to the story.

Antagonists

Sally Bones

• Big Bad: of the second book and the series in general.
• Fluffy the Terrible: She's a terrible villain named "Sally".
• Evil Smells Bad: She carries around a persistently dank smell.
• Eyepatch of Power: She is missing one eye, which gives off a similar effect.
• Icy Blue Eyes: Her cold blue eyes are even described as "ice blue".
• Lean and Mean: She's unusually thin, nothing but muscles and bones. It makes her even more frightening.
• Light Is Not Good: Is a white cat who is the Big Bad.
• Never Mess with Granny: She's very old and very powerful.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist
• Odd Name Out: She's the only street-cat with two names. This, along with her knowledge of the Way, implies she's something more than a common stray.
• The Scottish Trope: Tam can't stand to hear her name.

The Gentleman's Cats

• Ambiguously Related: They're identical looking comrades but it's never clarified if they're related or not.
• Black Eyes of Evil : They have pitch black eyes.
• Creepy Twins: It's unknown what they're relationship is, but they give this impression.
• Cry for the Devil: They're only doing the Gentleman's bidding because they're actually taxidermied clockwork esque creatures. When one of them is defeated, the other numbly offers its collar (essentially its power line) for it to be severed.
• Curtains Match the Window: Their eyes are as dark as their fur.
• Dark Is Evil: They're villainous black cats.
• No Name Given: They're unnamed, if they even have names.

Ginger

• Meaningful Name: He's an orange-furred cat named "Ginger".

Razor

• Covered in Scars: His body is covered in scars.
• Heel–Face Turn: He joins Varjak's gang in the second book.
• Names to Run Away From: He's a mean, brawny tabby named "Razor".

Gentleman

• Big Bad: of the first book.
• Ironic Name: He's anything but gentlemanly.