R.F. Kuang’s Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution is not just a dark academia masterpiece—it’s a deeply personal and character-driven speculative fiction storyline set on an alternate 19th-century Oxford University. While its world-building and historical fantasy premise are remarkable, what truly brings the story to life is its cast of complex, layered characters who wrestle with identity, loyalty, power, and the weight of colonial history.
Published by Harper Voyager, this fantasy novel follows in the thematic footsteps of Kuang’s earlier work, The Poppy War trilogy—exploring empire, rebellion, and the price of resistance. If you’ve already read our summary and character breakdown for The Poppy War, you’ll notice similar patterns of personal conflict set against sweeping political stakes.
In this post, we’ll break down the major Babel characters—including Robin Swift, Ramy, Letty, Victoire, and Professor Lovell—examining how each shapes the story and its core themes of identity, betrayal, and resistance. Whether you’re here to deepen your understanding of the characters or you’re just curious about the emotional heart of Babel, this guide is for you. And if you want a summary of the story to refresh your memory, make sure to take a look at our Babel Summary.
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Warning: Spoilers for Babel ahead! Proceed at your own risk.
So let’s get into the Babel character list!
Robin is the main character of Babel—a Chinese boy from Canton orphaned by cholera and brought to England by Professor Lovell. Raised to be a perfect addition to the Royal Institute of translation for the British Empire’s silver-working goals, Robin grows up torn between his love for language and academia and the growing realization of how his education is meant to serve colonial exploitation. His internal conflict, loyalty to his friends, and eventual disillusionment lead him to rebellion and self-sacrifice in an effort to dismantle the very system that created him.
Ramy, a Muslim student from Calcutta, is Robin’s closest friend and one of the first people to make Oxford feel like home. Beneath his charm and humor lies a sharp awareness of the violence British imperialism has inflicted on his homeland. His wit and warmth mask a deep sadness and rebellious spirit, and his tragic end is a defining moment in the story, highlighting the costs of resistance and betrayal.
Victoire, born in Haiti and raised in France, is a scholar of Latin and Greek and a specialist in Haitian Creole. As a Black woman in a racist and sexist institution, she is painfully aware of the barriers she faces. Her political awakening is steady and strong, and she becomes one of the most committed members of the Hermes Society. She’s also the only one from the core group to survive Babel’s final siege, ensuring their story endures.
Letty is the only white woman in the group, and though she is looked down on for her gender, she still benefits from the racial structures that oppress her friends. Letty desires belonging, power, and recognition, but her inability to understand the deeper injustices of the Empire ultimately fractures the group. Her jealousy, unrequited feelings for Ramy, and moral rigidity lead to a devastating betrayal that changes the course of the novel.
Griffin is Robin’s half-brother and the first child Professor Lovell tried to mold into a tool for the empire. Cast aside for being “imperfect,” Griffin faked his death and joined the Hermes Society, devoting himself to tearing down the system that created and rejected him. His reunion with Robin sparks Robin’s own journey of resistance. Cold and cunning, Griffin dies as he lived—fighting for the possibility of a freer world.
Lovell is a distant, manipulative academic who sees people—especially his own children—as instruments for empire. He raises Robin with cold discipline and never acknowledges him as a son. His role in provoking the Opium War and his blatant exploitation of China and its people make him the embodiment of colonial arrogance. Robin’s act of killing him is both personal and political; an act of rage, grief, and liberation.
Professor Playfair is a senior figure at Babel and serves as one of the novel’s most morally ambiguous characters. On the surface, he is generous and supportive of his students, but underneath, he’s deeply invested in preserving the status quo. He embodies the hypocrisy of well-meaning liberalism within oppressive systems: he claims to care about fairness and progress, but ultimately upholds a structure built on exploitation. His confrontations with Robin and Victoire reveal the limits of academic idealism when faced with real injustice.
Babel features a cast of complex, conflicted characters—each navigating identity, loyalty, and resistance in a world built on linguistic power and colonial exploitation.
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The main characters are Robin Swift, Ramy Mirza, Victoire Desgraves, and Letitia “Letty” Price—students at the Royal Institute of Translation (Babel) in Oxford. Key supporting characters include Professor Richard Lovell, Griffin Harley, and Professor Playfair.
Yes, there are LGBT characters in Babel, since, as per R.F. Kuang herself, there is a clearly implied romantic relationship between Ramy and Robin.
Robin Swift begins his journey from Canton as an 11-year-old boy, joins the Royal Institute of Translation at 17 years old, and dies at 20.
