Hilda, who specializes in making skilled copies of Great Master paintings, contrasts markedly with Miriam, her best friend. Whereas Miriam is vivacious and lives close to danger, Hilda is pure, innocent, quiet, and sheltered. Dressed in white, she has the aura of an angel or a saint. As Miriam tells her: “you dwell above our vanities and passions, our moral dust and mud, with the doves and the angels for your nearest neighbors” (41). Hilda is reserved and shy about matters of love, resisting Kenyon’s courtship until nearly the end of the book. Hilda’s moral uprightness causes her to be somewhat rigid and intolerant; she shuns Miriam after the murder and later realizes that she should have shown compassion instead. At heart, Hilda sees the world as pure and spotless and is unable to deal with the presence of evil. Whereas Miriam represents mankind’s darker tendencies, Hilda is a symbol of womanly purity and virtue.

As a single American woman living abroad, Hilda also represents the growing independence of women in the 19th century; Hawthorne says that she is “an example of the freedom of life which it is possible for a female artist to enjoy at Rome […] all alone, perfectly independent, under her own sole guardianship” (41). Hawthorne uses the character of Hilda to argue that society should grant women more freedom. A native of small-town New England and a descendent of the Puritans, Hilda is a symbol of the morally upright, strong-minded and independent women of Hawthorne’s region. In her attraction to Catholicism, however, her independence of mind leads her to adopt a broadminded view of other traditions.

A sculptor who is highly intellectual and well read, Kenyon has an open, friendly and jovial nature. He is sententiously talkative and philosophical and enjoys drawing moral sermons and historical lessons for his friends from the artwork and places they visit. Kenyon’s personality is positive and upbeat; he wants his friends to be happy and tries to help them resolve their problems. This is especially true in the case of Donatello, whom he visits and tries to cheer up at Monte Beni. Later, Kenyon reunites Donatello with Miriam. He is deeply attracted to Hilda’s sweetness and virtue and desires to break through her reserve and make her love him; eventually he succeeds. Hilda’s disappearance troubles him deeply and he works diligently to find her.

Although a lover of Italian art and culture, Kenyon also evinces a hatred of Catholicism common among American Protestants of the period. Hilda’s and Miriam’s spiritual experiences make him consider other points of view. At the end, Kenyon presumably brings his European experiences back to his native land.

The character of Donatello has biblical and mythic dimensions. He represents the innocence and joy of mankind before the onset of suffering, sin, and death as recounted in the book of Genesis. Donatello also reminds his friends of a faun, a creature from Greek mythology that lived during the idyllic Golden Age when life was simple and carefree. Donatello resembles the faun both in his appearance and in his dancing, skipping gait. The novel hints that he might literally be descended from fauns and that his ears might be pointed and furry, thus adding an element of fantasy to the story. Donatello is motivated by simple love and at first shows no great intellectual power or understanding. Even so, he demonstrates courage, daring, and loyalty—e.g., in his determination to find Miriam in the cave and to defend her against Brother Antonio.

However, underneath this happy exterior Donatello has a darker and bestial side. The faun was half man and half animal, and when jealous Donatello at one point shows “set teeth […] giving him a look of animal rage” (66). By murdering Brother Antonio, Donatello undergoes a classic fall from grace and must atone for his sin. Ultimately, Donatello emerges morally purified and more intelligent and spiritually aware than before. The deepening of Donatello’s personality points to the purifying effect of suffering on human beings (see Themes). Despite the heavy symbolism of Donatello’s character, he is also a very human character that we can relate to.