Aldana is the father of Petrocella. He hopes that she will marry Valladaura, and is pleased when she does. He is then furious to learn that Petrocella has dishonored him by cuckolding Valladaura. But when the truth emerges, he is delighted to find "my daughter chaste, my house honest, and noble Ferrars my son-in-law."
BONAVIDA
Lord Bonavida is a noble and honest Spanish lord. He is disgusted by Queen Isabella's pride and vanity, and refuses to flatter her. As a punishment, she challenges him to find a woman more beautiful and virtuous than she, or lose his head. Bonavida travels across Europe, with his servant, the Clown, but finds no suitable women until he comes to England. There, he finds Hellena and persuades her to accompany him to Spain, after he has first proven her virtue. To prove her virtue, he gives her a ring and makes her promises not to give it away. She gives him a carcanet in return. He then returns to Spain to announce his find, but Isabella is angry that he has not brought Hellena with him. She throws him in a dungeon, confiscates the carcanet, and orders Pineda and Centella to get the ring from Hellena. They succeed, and return to Spain, triumphantly announcing that Hellena is a whore. Lord Bonavida is devastated and begs for death. But Hellena, who arrives at the gallows just in time to reveal the truth, saves him.
CENTELLA
Centella and Pineda are Spanish sycophants who fawn over Isabella. They act as go-betweens when Valladaura purchases Ferrars and Manhurst at the slave-market. Queen Isabella sends them to England to retrieve the ring from Hellena that Bonavida gave her to test her virtue. They do so by seducing Hellena's maid, Rosara, and persuading her to steal the ring. They then return to Spain, triumphantly announcing that Hellena is a whore. They are present at the 'marriage' of Valladaura and Petrocella and its aftermath. Just before Bonavida's execution, Hellena arrives and reveals their duplicity.
CLOWN
The Clown is Lord Bonavida's servant, and accompanies him on his journey across Europe. When Bonavida is sentenced to death after Hellena's seeming inconstancy, the Clown becomes a misogynist.
FERRARS
Ferrars is an English sea-captain, brother of Hellena. Like his sister, he is handsome and virtuous. Ferrars, his friend Manhurst, and their crew are captured by a Turkish captain and sold as slaves in Spain. Valladaura, with whom Ferrars had once fought, buys Ferrars and Manhurst, and sends Manhurst home to England. Valladaura then puts Ferrars through a bizarre test of his virtue: he dresses Ferrars as a gallant, and orders him to woo Petrocella for him. Ferrars agrees, but he and Petrocella fall in love. Ferrars, unwilling to break his word to Valladaura, tricks Petrocella into promising to marry Valladaura. When Ferrars reports that he has successfully persuaded Petrocella to marry Valladaura, Valladaura tells him to disguise as a priest, and perform the marriage. He will not explain why. After the 'wedding,' Valladaura orders Ferrars to sleep with Petrocella, but not to do anything carnal. Ferrars obeys. That night, Petrocella claims to have stabbed Ferrars in error for Valladaura, but then reveals that she was lying and that Ferrars is alive and well, and never even kissed her (though she confesses that she gave him twenty). Valladaura is delighted and tells Ferrars and Petrocella to marry immediately. King Sebastian is so impressed with Ferrars's virtue that he awards him with a title. When, at the execution of Bonavida, it is revealed that Hellena is Ferrars's sister, he disbelieves her story and thinks that she has shamed and dishonored his name. But Valladaura and Manhurst convince him that she is virtuous.
HELLENA
Hellena is the sister of Ferrars. Bonavida selects her as the equal of Queen Isabella in virtue and beauty, and persuades her to accompany him to Spain, but only after he has first proven her virtue. To prove her virtue, he gives her a ring and makes her promises not to give it away; she gives him a carcanet in return. Bonavida leaves for Spain. Hellena takes off the ring while washing, and her maid Rosara steals it and gives to Pineda and Centella, pretending she has thrown it out with the water. When Rosara admits the truth, Hellena, Rosara and their servant (the disguised Manhurst) travel to Spain. They arrive in time to see Bonavida on the scaffold, cursing Hellena and all women. Hellena saves the day by pleading to the King and Queen for justice, and by revealing the duplicity of Pineda and Centella.
LEONORA
An ancient lady, mother of Hellena. She is keen for Hellena to accept Bonavida's offer. According to the dramatis personae she is Aldana's wife, but this may be a mistake, since nothing is made of it in the play.
LORD
A Spanish Lord brings news of Lord Bonavida's return to Queen Isabella.
MAID
Rosara is referred to as 'Maid' in all stage directions and speech prefixes.
MANHURST
Manhurst is a friend of Ferrars. They are captured by a Turkish captain and sold as slaves in Spain. Ferrars refuses to go anywhere without Manhurst, who has saved his life many times, but Valladaura buys them both and then releases Manhurst, sending him home to England. There, Manhurst has many debts, so he dons a disguise and offers himself as a servant to Ferrars's sister, Hellena, and guides her and Rosara back to Spain. They arrive in time to see Bonavida on the scaffold and rescue him by revealing the truth about Hellena. When Hellena needs to prove her virtue to Ferrars, Manhurst reveals his identity, and Ferrars trusts his word.
MONHURST
Alternative spelling of Manhurst.
PETROCELLA
Petrocella is a fair Spanish lady who hopes to be chosen by Lord Bonavida as Queen Isabella's equal in beauty. Valladaura woos her, but she is not interested. Valladaura sends Ferrars to woo her for him, but she and Ferrars fall in love. The virtuous Ferrars insists that Petrocella must marry Valladaura and tricks her into promising. She angrily agrees and marries him. On the wedding night she emerges from the bedroom with a bloody poniard, and announces that she has stabbed Valladaura. But she then sees him in front of her, and learns that it was Ferrars, not Valladaura in her bed. Valladaura explains that he had been hoping that they would marry, and that the previous 'wedding' was null because the priest was Ferrars in disguise. Petrocella than reveals that she knew it was Ferrars in her bed and she was only pretending to have killed him. Valladaura is delighted and tells Petrocella and Ferrars to get married immediately, which they do.
PINEDA
Pineda and Centella are Spanish sycophants who fawn over Isabella. They act as go-betweens when Valladaura purchases Ferrars and Manhurst at the slave-market. Queen Isabella sends them to England to get the ring from Hellena that Bonavida gave her to test her virtue. They do so by seducing Hellena's maid, Rosara, and persuading her to steal the ring. They then return to Spain, triumphantly announcing that Hellena is a whore. They are present at the 'marriage' of Valladaura and Petrocella and its aftermath. Just before Bonavida's execution, Hellena arrives and reveals their duplicity.
QUEEN ISABELLA
Queen Isabella of Spain marries King Sebastian of Portugal. She is proud and demands that the Spaniards praise her as the most beautiful and virtuous woman in the world. When Lord Bonavida refuses to be a flatterer, she challenges him to find a woman more beautiful and virtuous than she or lose his head. When Bonavida returns and describes Hellena, Isabella is angry that he has not brought her with him. She throws him in a dungeon and confiscates the carcanet that Hellena gave him. She then orders Pineda and Centella to test Hellena's virtue by trying to retrieve the ring from her. She is triumphant when they succeed. But at the execution of Bonavida, Hellena arrives in time to reveal that the ring was unjustly stolen from her, and Isabella, dazzled by Hellena's beauty and virtue, admits that she was wrong, and orders the release of Bonavida.
ROSARA
Rosara is Hellena's maid. She claims to have inadvertently thrown Bonavida's ring out with the bath water, but in fact she has been seduced by Centella and Pineda and has stolen the ring for them. When she gives them the ring, they renounce the promises of preferment they had made her, so she returns to Hellena and tells her the truth. She then travels to Spain with Hellena, disguised as her page. They see Bonavida on the scaffold, cursing Hellena and all women, and Rosara supports Hellena's revelation of the truth.
SEBASTIAN of PORTUGAL
King Sebastian of Portugal marries Queen Isabella of Spain. He accedes to his proud wife's demand that Lord Bonavida be challenged to find a woman as beautiful and virtuous as her. He is a minor character, who agrees with his wife about everything, although he becomes more assertive in the final scene.
TURKISH CAPTAIN
A Turkish captain first captures and then sells Ferrars, Manhurst, and their crew as slaves in Spain.
VALLADAURA
Valladaura is a Spanish naval hero who woos Petrocella, but he does not impress her. He tries to convince her of his valor by showing his wounds, but Petrocella says she'd rather meet the man who gave him the wounds. Valladaura slinks off, ashamed. He sees his enemy, Ferrars, in the slave market. He buys Ferrars and his friend Manhurst. He sends Manhurst back to England, dresses Ferrars as a gallant, and puts him through a bizarre test of his virtue. He orders Ferrars to woo Petrocella for him. When Ferrars reports that he has successfully persuaded Petrocella to marry Valladaura, Valladaura tells him to disguise as a priest, and perform the marriage. He will not explain why. After the 'wedding,' Valladaura orders Ferrars to sleep with Petrocella, but not to do anything carnal. Ferrars obeys. That night, Valladaura raises the house, shouting that Petrocella is cuckolding him. Then Petrocella enters with a bloody poniard, announcing that she has stabbed her husband. Valladaura is horrified, and explains that it was Ferrars in her bed, not he, and that he had ordered Ferrars to conduct their own wedding service, so that it would be null, and that she could then wed Ferrars. Petrocella then reveals that she knew it was Ferrars in her bed all along, and she hasn't really killed him. Valladaura is delighted and tells Ferrars and Petrocella to get married immediately. When, at the execution of Bonavida, Ferrars is unconvinced by his sister Hellena's protestation of virtue, Valladaura insists that she must be virtuous because she is the sister of Ferrars.