Marek

Jude’s son and the eventual lord of Lapvonia, Marek is set upon by forces of privilege, faith, and exclusion. In the early parts of the novel, Marek is treated as an outcast, largely ignored by the other villagers. He is also heavily abused by his father and spends much of his time lamenting the absence of his mother, who he wrongly believes died in childbirth. As a result of the oppression and derision that Marek faces from the villagers and his father alike, he has developed a deep and unhealthy relationship with religion, convinced that his suffering will earn him favor in the eyes of God and even going so far as to intentionally anger his father so that he will be beaten more severely. Marek is drawn to nature, in which he seems to find peace, and is also in possession of a charitable spirit, though...