Characters / Gemma Doyle

Characters from the Gemma Doyle books.

Main Characters

Gemma Doyle

The protagonist, and one of the four main characters in the series.

• Action Girl: Slowly evolves into this.
• Anti-Hero
• Action Survivor: Initially.
• Beware the Nice Ones: It takes a lot to get her to the breaking point, but once she gets there, the offending party is in for a world of trouble.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: Seemed to be this prior to her mother's death.

• Erotic Dream: Has these about Kartik.
• Extreme Doormat: Not normally but definitely when it comes to her friends, especially in the first book.
• Fiery Redhead: Gemma is usually sarcastic and even-tempered but she can slide into this territory at times.

• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Gemma makes mistakes. While they don't happen often, when they do, the consequences are serious enough to more than qualify her for this trope.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: With Kartik.
• True Companions: Is this with Felicity, Pippa, and Ann but their friendship is tested often.
• The Lancer: Unusually, despite being the main character who narrates the story and having the most ties to the plot, Gemma is this to the spirited Felicity.

Felicity Worthington

• Abusive Parents: Her mother is flighty enough to cause scandal for the conservative times. Then there's her father...

• Alpha Bitch: Before befriending Gemma, Felicity could be ruthless. Afterwards she is more of a...
  • Lovable Alpha Bitch

• Berserk Button: Referencing what her father did to her is not a good idea.

• The Corruptible: Is swayed the most and the consequences of being corrupted are extremely dire.

• Dumb Blonde: Averted. Felicity has the most social smarts which makes her the "smartest" of the girls in a society where fitting in is so very important.
• Lipstick Lesbian: With Pippa.
• Et Tu, Brute?: Thankfully averted, despite many hints that this would be the case.

• Green-Eyed Monster: Shows some signs towards the other girls, feeling that even Ann and Gemma are better off than she is.

• The Leader: Unusually, Felicity leads the girls in Victorian society and even in the realms after getting used to setting.
• Sanity Slippage: Suffers from this at the end of the first book when corrupted by the realms.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Her and Gemma.

Pippa Cross

• Ax-Crazy: The consequence of remaining in the realms and eating its food.

• Brainless Beauty: Somewhat subverted as Pippa is less dumb and more naive. But boy, is she naive.
• The Cutie
  • Break the Cutie: Her fate, beginning with her Arranged Marriage.
  • Corrupt the Cutie: What happens to her. It makes her Cute and Psycho
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette

• Driven to Suicide: Not that this keeps her out of the story.
• Face–Heel Turn
• Girly Girl: Deconstructed. Pippa only fits the role because she is the most traditionally feminine and has nothing else to recommend her besides her looks, and this causes her more problems than it solves. Pippa's condition throughout the story rallies her friends together, but it is because of circumstances and not because of her character. She is woefully helpless and dependent on others and contributes little to the group.
• Lipstick Lesbian: But in the last book Sanity Slippage happens and she turns into a Psycho Lesbian.
• Walking Spoiler: From the end of the first book onward.

Ann Bradshaw

• Abhorrent Admirer: For Tom, but only because she isn't rich.
• All the Other Reindeer: Being a scholarship student of little beauty and no social skills, Ann was an easy target at Spence's.
• Beautiful All Along: Not in a transformational sense, but Ann's growing self-confidence makes her more happy which improves her appearance.
• Brainy Brunette: The most academically smart of the group.
• Death by Origin Story: Her parents, but hey, Deceased Parents Are the Best
• Extreme Doormat: Semi-justified. She lets the Spence girls (sometimes including Gemma, Fee, and Pip) walk all over her, because she knows full well that she can get expelled for the slightest infraction while the others could practically get away with murder.

• I Just Want to Be Beautiful: So much so that she uses her magic to make herself appear beautiful to others. Tellingly, this form looks absolutely nothing like Ann.
  • Over time, Ann realizes that her fake beauty is actually costing her recognition for her real talents in singing and acting, and so she willingly stops hiding behind the illusion.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Connected to her Friendless Background.
• Lonely Together: How She and Gemma became friends.
• My Brother Is Off Limits: Averted, Gemma has no problem with Ann's crush on Tom.
• Self-Harm: The bullying Ann endures drove her to scratch at her arms with her sewing needles.

• Scholarship Student
• The Smart Guy

Supporting Characters

Kartik

• Battle Couple: With Gemma in "A Sweet Far Thing".
• Cassandra Truth: His reasons aside, he was right about the realms being dangerous.

• Green-Eyed Epiphany: Was pretty clearly attracted to Gemma before Simon showed up but he forced Kartik to own up to his feelings.
• Love Interest: For Gemma.
• Killed Off for Real: In a Heroic Sacrifice.

• Slap-Slap-Kiss: With Gemma.
• Starcrossed Lovers: Also with Gemma.

Miss Moore

• Secret Identity: She is Circe.

Antagonists

Circe

• Anti-Villain: Turns into as the series goes on.
• Big Bad: For the first two books, anyways.
• The Corruptible: Is corrupted by the power of the bargain she made with the Winterlands
• Evil Former Friend: To Mary Dowd.
• Even Evil Has Standards: In The Sweet Far Thing.
• Friendly Enemy: To Gemma.
• Killed Off for Real: At the end of "The Sweet Far Thing"
• Manipulative Bitch: The girls adore her and never suspect her to be Circe until after Gemma has let her into the realms
• Pragmatic Villainy
• Redemption Equals Death: Tries to stop Eugenia to save herself, but to help Gemma as well. Though this does not actually kill her, Gemma gives her her place among the glory of the Order, effectively both causing her death once and for all, but also redeeming her
• Secret Identity: She is Mrs. Moore.
• Would Hurt a Child: Sacrifices Carolina to obtain power from the Winterlands
• You Are Not Alone: A strange variation, but is there for Gemma when nobody else is due to her ability to exist in her darkness and Gemma's in a way other characters cannot.

Mrs. Eugenia Spence (spoiler character)

Amar

• Big Brother Instinct: Possibly this is what motivated him to warn Kartik of his upcoming demise.

• Fate Worse than Death: Becomes one of the Winterlands creatures after dying to protect Gemma's mom
• Heel–Face Turn: Of sorts, though it's less a personal choice and more being corrupted by Circe's creature
• Heroic Sacrifice: He died protecting Gemma's mother.
• Senseless Sacrifice: Due to her suicide.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Played with; though Amar shows up a few times in the series, we only met his original non-evil form once.

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