‘The Fault in Our Stars’ introduces its characters through Hazel’s eyes. As a novel written from the first-person perspective, all characters face constraints to Hazel’s perception of their existence. Though most of the characters are fictional, Hazel’s character got inspired by John Green’s friend, Esther Earl.
Hazel
Hazel Grace Lancaster is a depressed sixteen-year-old novel addict who feels her depression is a side-effect of the thyroid cancer that ravages her body. She gets hooked to an oxygen tank as cancer causes her to develop breathing issues. Navigating through a world filled with death and pain, she tries to reject her doctor and mother’s suggestion concerning joining a cancer support group. However, she joins. On entering the support group, she hides her resentment towards Patrick, the group leader, and though her mind is in a constant battle to tell him he is an overly optimistic sterile man, she restrains herself.
Finding solace in Peter Van Houten’s novel becomes a coping mechanism for Hazel because she realizes that the story perfectly explains her life, and Van Houten understands the concept of dying perfectly. She becomes friends with Augustus, a seventeen-year-old boy. After introducing him to her favorite novel ‘An Imperial Affliction,’ their relationship soars from friendship to love. However, Hazel’s life becomes worse as Augustus dies.
Although she felt helpless, a letter from Lidewiji, Van Houten’s assistant, changes everything. She discovers that Augustus had written an obituary for her. In the letter, he tells her that he never regretted ever falling in love with her. Reading Augustus’s letter makes Hazel realize that Augustus was her best decision.
Augustus
Augustus Waters, also known as Gus, is a seventeen-year-old boy who becomes friends with Hazel. Being energetic and always with a smile, he meets Hazel at the support group his friend, Isaac, attends. Augustus invites Hazel to his house, where she meets his parents. He receives her favorite novel and gives her his favorite. On completing ‘An Imperial Affliction’ by Peter Van Houten, Gus becomes curious about the novel’s abrupt ending. He tracks down Lidewiji, Van Houten’s assistant, and with her help, he begins an email exchange with Van Houten himself. After some time of conversing with Van Houten, he and Hazel get invited to Amsterdam.
On reaching Amsterdam, Augustus realizes that Van Houten is an alcoholic man who gave no face to Hazel’s effort. After getting insulted by Houten, he and Hazel leave. Lidewiji apologizes to them and takes them to Anne Frank’s house. Though he protests against Hazel taking the stairs, she stubbornly climbs to the top, and there, they share a kiss. The same night, they lose their virginity to each other. After professing their love for each other, Augustus comes clean to Hazel. He tells her that his cancer had returned and spread throughout his body. Eventually, he dies from cancer.
Isaac
Isaac is a seventeen-year-old boy with eye cancer. As Augustus’s friends, he and Hazel become close. However, his girlfriend, Monica, breaks up with him before a crucial surgery. Heartbroken, Augustus hands his trophies to Isaac, telling him to smash them till he is satisfied. Isaac goes into surgery and comes out cancer-free. However, he loses his eye and goes blind.
Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn is Hazel’s classmate and only friend from Hazel’s life before cancer. She and Hazel maintain their friendship through her darkest times, and when Hazel falls for Augustus, she tells Kaitlyn. After Augustus dies, Kaitlyn tells Hazel that he may have left a written letter and sent it to someone; this leads to her discovering Augustus’s letter from Lidewiji.
Patrick
Patrick is an overly-optimistic middle-aged man who barely survived prostate cancer. Being the leader of Hazel’s support group, his efforts to soften the thought of dying in the minds of his group members makes him appear strange to Hazel. Patrick’s belief in religion and hope makes Hazel resent him because she feels he should express his anger and true self regarding him becoming sterile. After Hazel meets Augustus at the support group, Patrick asks what he fears. In response, Augustus states that his greatest fear is oblivion. However, Hazel objects to his thoughts, saying that humans will eventually die off, and all their advancement will fade into irrelevance.
Peter Van Houten
Peter Van Houten is a writer who Hazel loves. His novel, ‘An Imperial Affliction,’ is her favorite as she admits that the story reflects her life excellently. Out of her love for him, she decides to visit to get answers about his novel’s abrupt ending. However, Van Houten acts rude and judgmental. In a drunk fit of rage, he insults Hazel by telling her that she and people like her are just errors of evolution. After Augustus dies, Van Houten tries to seek forgiveness for how he acted toward her, but she refuses to forgive him.
Lidewiji Vliegenthart
Lidewiji is Peter Van Houten’s assistant. She invites Hazel and Augustus to Amsterdam, but after Van Houten insults them, she resigns from being his assistant. Lidewiji takes them on a visit to Anne Frank’s house and pays for their dinner at Oranje. After Augustus dies, she sends his last letters to Hazel.
Caroline Mathers
Caroline Mathers is Augustus’s ex-girlfriend, who dies from brain cancer. After Hazel learns that Augustus had an ex-girlfriend, she looks her up and discovers that she was dead from brain cancer. Augustus tells her that he wanted to leave her but could not because he felt it would be terrible for him to dump a dying girl.
Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster
Frannie and Michael Lancaster are Hazel’s parents. After taking her to her doctor, Frannie persuades Hazel to attend a support group. After Hazel and Augustus become friends, Frannie starts getting worried about her daughter’s health. She tries to make Hazel eat, but in rebellion, Hazel tells her that she knows she is a grenade waiting to explode. Michael, Hazel’s father, is an emotional man who gets teary often. He and Frannie rush Hazel to the hospital after she experiences an intense headache from fluid filling her lungs.
Dr. Maria
Dr. Maria is Hazel’s doctor. After Hazel visits her for a checkup, she suggests a support group for her depression. When Hazel and Augustus decide to go to Amsterdam, Dr. Maria ensures that Frannie follows Hazel.
Other characters from the novel include Monica, Julia, Martha, Graham, Dr. Simon, and Mr. and Mrs. Water.
FAQs
Was Augustus in love with someone else before Hazel?
Before he met Hazel, Augustus was in a relationship with Caroline Mathers. However, Augustus stated that his relationship with Caroline felt forced as he could not leave her because of her cancer. Eventually, she died.
Who is Lidewiji Vleigenthart in The Fault in Our Stars?
Lidewiji is Peter Van Houten’s assistant. After receiving a letter from Augustus, she persuades Van Houten to respond. Augustus and Hazel eventually visit Van Houten. She quits being his assistant when he treats Hazel and Augustus terribly.
Who is Monica in The Fault in Our Stars?
Monica is Isaac’s girlfriend. She breaks up with him before he undergoes surgery to determine if his cancer is curable.
Does Hazel get cured of cancer?
In the story of ‘The Fault in Our Stars’, Hazel never gets cured of cancer. Though the novel ended without specifying if Hazel died or not, John Green revealed that she died about a year after Augustus’s death.
