Charles Marlow
Marlow's name may be inspired by the Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. Conrad's father was a translator of William Shakespeare who doubtless would have known of Marlowe's work as well. Some intertextual interpretations of "Heart of Darkness" have suggested that Marlowe's "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" may have influenced Conrad. Charles Marlow describes a character as a "papier-mache Mephistopheles", a reference to the Faust legend. Marlow's and Kurtz's journey up the Congo River in "Heart of Darkness" also has similarities to another work by Marlowe, "Dido, Queen of Carthage", in which Aeneas is stranded on the shore of Libya and meets the African queen Dido.
Night World
Mary-Lynnette Carter - Mary-Lynnette is the protagonist in "Daughter of Darkness". She is the older sister of Mark Carter, becomes a blood sister with the Redfern girls, and is the soulmate of Ash Redfern. Mary-Lynnette is an astronomy lover who spends her time star-watching at night and is more of a night person than a day person. She is curious about everything and admires Nancy Drew, often wondering what she would do in her situation. She is nicknamed Mare and is very protective of Mark, feeling responsible for him. She often displays an ironic sense of humor, is very strong, and talks to herself a lot. Even though she and Ash are soulmates, she doesn't follow him, but tells him to fix his past mistakes then come back. Mary-Lynnette has long brown hair with blue eyes. When she first meets Ash, she can't stop kicking him in the shins, which is her way of suppressing the urge to kiss him, so everyone thinks she has gone mad.