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Yokel
A crazed former Catholic priest who tries to kill Edward Tudor. The hermit lives alone in the forest and claims that he is an archangel but that he should have been Pope. His livelihood and ambitions were destroyed during King Henry VIII’s Reformation (under which Catholic establishments were dissolved and raided as Henry established the Protestant Church of England) and he seeks to get revenge against Henry by killing Edward. Ironically, the hermit is the only character who believes Edward when he says he’s the real Prince of Wales. The hermit’s plan is foiled when Miles Hendon tracks Edward to the house. The hermit draws Miles away, but then John Canty comes in and kidnaps Edward for the second time.
The Hermit Quotes in The Prince and the Pauper
The The Prince and the Pauper quotes below are all either spoken by The Hermit or refer to The Hermit. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 20 Quotes
“His father wrought us evil, he destroyed us—and is gone down into the eternal fires! Yes, down into the eternal fires! He escaped us—but it was God’s will, yes it was God’s will, we must not repine. But he hath not escaped the fires! no, he hath not escaped the fires, the consuming, unpitying remorseless fires—and they are everlasting!”
[…]
“It was his father that did it all. I am but an archangel—but for him, I should be Pope!”
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Prince and the Pauper LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Hermit Character Timeline in The Prince and the Pauper
The timeline below shows where the character The Hermit appears in The Prince and the Pauper. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 20: The Prince and the Hermit
...praying at an altar. This gives Edward confidence and he knocks on the door. The hermit tells Edward to come in and he asks him his name. Edward says he’s a...
(full context)
The hermit begins muttering and pacing through the house. Edward tries to speak, but before he can...
(full context)
The hermit sits by the fire and thinks for a while. Suddenly he goes into where Edward’s...
(full context)
Chapter 21: Hendon to the Rescue
The hermit watches Edward sleep for hours. His mind wanders, but suddenly he’s aware that Edward is...
(full context)
As Edward continues struggling, Hendon hears the noise and asks what it is. The hermit suggests that it’s the wind or else something in a copse nearby, and they go...
(full context)
Chapter 25: Hendon Hall
...of their adventures the whole time. Hendon is horrified to learn that the kindly old hermit meant to kill Edward—he wishes he had killed the hermit on the spot. As they...
(full context)
